
Class 
Book. 



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GnpyiightTsI e^op^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



A HISTORY 

OF -2-/< 

LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

THE RECORD 
OF THREE CENTURIES 

1609-1909 

BY 

Walter Hill Crockett 



HOBART J. SHANLEY &c CO. 

Burlington, Vt. 

PUBLISHERS 






o c ^ 









TO 
REV. G. GLENN ATKINS, D. D. 
THIS HISTORY OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 
IS DEDICATED 



Cla. A, 

JUL -\2 ' fV09 



Copyrighted 1909 

HOBAET J. SHANLEY <fc Cc 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

In offering this History of Lake Champlain to the 
public the writer does not claim that every detail of im- 
portant events has been recorded or that every incident 
worthy of remembrance has been included. Such treat- 
ment would require longer time and greater space than 
are available for the production of this book. An at- 
tempt has been made to describe briefly and accurately 
the principal features of the story of this lake and valley 
as written during the past three centuries by the three 
nations of France, Great Britain, and the United States 
of America. 

Grateful acknowledgments are due Frank L. Greene, 
Hon. Horace W. Bailey, Hon. Carroll S. Page, Hon. 
John B. Riley, Hon. Charles Deal, Miss Edith 
Clarke, Capt. E. B. Rockwell, D. A. Loomis, officials 
of the navy department, and many others for valu- 
able aid rendered in a variety of ways. 
* * * 

Among the books consulted in the preparation of 
this volume are: "Voyages of Champlain," "Jesuit 
Relations," Charlevoix's "History of New France," 
Kerlidou's "History of Fort St. Anne," Parkman's 
"Pioneers of France in the New World," Kalm's 
"Travels in North America," Force's "American Ar- 
chives," O'Callaghan's "Documentary History of the 
State of New York," Palmer's "History of Lake Cham- 
plain," Warren's "Pioneer History of the Champlain 
Valley," Rogers' "Bessboro," "Journal of William 
Gilliland," John Fiske's "New France and New Eng- 
land," Parker and Bryan's "Old Quebec," Histories of 



6 . A History of Lake Champlain 

the United States by Winsor, Bancroft and Hildreth, 
Green's "Short History of the English People," Hemen- 
way's "Historical Gazetteer," Ethan Allen's "Narra- 
tive," Histories of Vermont by Ira Allen, Williams, 
Hoskins, Thompson, Hiland Hall, Collins, B. H. Hall's 
"History of Eastern Vermont," Chittenden's "Capture 
of Ticonderoga," Justin H. Smith's "Our Struggle for 
the Fourteenth Colony," Joseph Cook's "Sketches of 
Ticonderoga," "Journals of the Continental Congress," 
Huot's "Siege of Fort de St. Jean," Codman's "Arnold's 
Expedition to Quebec," Goodhue's "History of Shore- 
ham," Lodge's "The Story of the Revolution" Los- 
sing's "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," "Rec- 
ords of the Council of Safety and Governor and Council 
of the State of Vermont," "Maine Historical Society 
Collections," "New England Historical and Geneal- 
ogical Register," "Pennsylvania Magazine of History," 
"Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society," 
Hinman's "Connecticut in the Revolution," Sparks' 
"Correspondence of the Revolution," Drake's "Me- 
morials of the Society of the Cincinnati," Parton's 
"Life of Franklin," Files of the London Chronicle, 
London Gazette, Boston Gazette, and Vermonter, Daw- 
son's "Battles of the United States," Mahan's "The 
Naval Campaign of 1776 on Lake Champlain" in Scrib- 
ner's Magazine, Moore's "The Northwest Under Three 
Flags," Drake's "Burgoyne's Invasion of 1777," 
Thacher's "Military Journal During the Revolutionary 
War," Saffell's "Records of the Revolutionary War," 
"Public Papers of George Clinton," Lecky's "Ameri- 
can Revolution," Burgoyne's "State of the Expedition," 
Fonblanque's "Burgoyne," Trevelyan's "The Ameri- 
can Revolution," "Proceedings of the Vermont Anti- 



A History of Lake Champlain 7 

quarian Society," "Centennial Celebrations of the 
State of New York," Timothy Dwight's "Travels in 
New England and New York," "Vermont Historical 
Society Proceedings" including a paper on "Thomas 
Macdonough" by Hon. Charles H. Darling, Rodney 
Macdonough's "Life of Commodore Thomas Macdon- 
ough," Roosevelt's "Naval War of 1812," "Report of 
the United States Geological Survey," Reports of the 
Vermont State Geologist, Spafford's "Gazetteer of New 
York," Whitford's " History of the Canal System of 
New York," Witherbee's "History of the Iron Industry 
of Essex County, New York," "The Past and Present 
of Plattsburgh," Allen's "About Burlington, Vermont," 
Murray's "Lake Champlain and Its Shores." 
St. Albans, Vt., June, 1909. 



~"S~-V i 




A GLIMPSE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIX. 



A History of Lake Champlain 9 

CHAPTER I. 

THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

Dimensions of the lake-Islands and tributary rivers- 
The geological history-Champlain's preparations- 
Deserted by part of his force-The journey in the 
Richelieu River-Champlain enters the lake- A 
period concerning which little is told -Possible stop- 
ping places -Mountains "covered with snow" -The 
battle with the Iroquois-Comparatively early date 
of the discovery-Champlain's career and services. 



CHAPTER II 

THE FRENCH OCCUPATION 

The Jesuit missions-Building of the Richelieu forts- 
Construction of Fort St. Anne-Sieur de Courcelles 
ordered to prepare an expedition against the In- 
dians-A foray into the Mohawk country-Sufferings 
on the return trip-Marquis de Tracy sent to Que- 
bec-He assembles troops at Isle La Motte for an 
expedition against the Indians-Mohawk villages 
destroyed and peace secured -An Indian legend 
related by a Jesuit priest-Abandonment of Fort 
St. Anne— Excavations made. 



10 A History of Lake Cham plain 

CHAPTER III 

FIRST ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT 

War between France and Great Britain— Plans for a 
Canadian invasion abandoned— Raids by John and 
Philip Schuyler— Building of Fort St. Frederic— The 
seignioral grants on Lake Champlain— Scotch col- 
ony project a failure— Peter Kalm's visit to Fort 
St. Frederic— A description of the fortress— Condition 
of the soldiers and their manner of living— The trip 
to St. Johns— Settlement at Chimney Point. 



CHAPTER IV ^ 



THE STRUGGLE FOR A CONTINENT 

Events leading up to the French and Indian War- 
Arrival of troops from Great Britain and France— 
Dieskau pushes southward, looking for Johnson's 
force— Col. Williams killed in an ambuscade— The 
French attack the British camp at Lake George— 
Dieskau defeated, wounded, and captured— The 
French troops retreat to Ticonderoga— Fort Carillon 
built— Rigaud repulsed at Fort William Henry- 
Montcalm besieges, captures, and destroys the 
fort. 



A History of Lake Champlain 1 1 

CHAPTER V 

THE FRENCH ABANDON THE LAKE 

Armies assembled by Abercrombie and Montcalm-Pic- 
turesque British advance down Lake George— Lord 
Howe killed in a skirmish— Abercrombie makes re- 
peated assaults upon the strong French defences at 
Ticonderoga, and being repulsed retreats in haste— 
Vandreuil jealous of Montcalm— Border warfare in 
the valley— The French abandon the Champlain 
fortresses and retreat to Canada— Amherst builds a 
stronghold at Crown Point— Naval affairs on the 
lake— Forays by Maj. Robert Rogers— British take 
Isle aux Noix and Canada. 



CHAPTER VI 

ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS BEG UN 

English grants in the Champlain valley— First permanent 
settlement made by Philip Skene at Skenesborough 
—French and Indian settlement at Swanton falls- 
William Gilliland establishes a colony at Westport— 
Early occupation of Shelburne— Pioneer experiences 
in Addison— Controversies between Green Mountain 
Boys and Yorkers— Colchester founded by the Aliens 
—Col. Skene's proposal for a new royal colony. 



12 A History of Lake Champlain 

CHAPTER VII 

THE CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA 

John Brown sent to Canada by Massachusetts— Con- 
necticut men raise funds for capture of Ticonderoga 
and send out nucleus of expedition— Ethan Allen 
agrees to lead the party— Gershom Beach summons 
the Green Mountain Boys— Benedict Arnold arrives 
at Castleton and is refused the command— The ren- 
dezvous at Hand's Cove— The capture of the fortress, 
also Crown Point and Skenesborough— The spoils of 
war— Importance of the victory— Expeditions by Al- 
len and Arnold to St. Johns. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE ALLEN-ARNOLD CONTROVERSY 

Proof of the fact that Allen was in sole command of the 
Ticonderoga expedition— Arnold renews his efforts to 
secure control-Differences between the two leaders 
result in a critical situation— Allen apparently 
relinquishes authority— Massachusetts Congress 
sends committee to investigate affairs at Ticonder- 
oga-Col. Hinman appointed commandant— Arnold 
refuses to turn over the command— Mutiny reported 
among his men-Arnold resigns-An estimate of his 
services-Congress proposes to abandon the Cham- 



A History of Lake Champlain 13 

plain posts— A storm of protest and indignation 
aroused throughout New England— Decision to 
retain the lake posts— Knox removes captured can- 
non to Boston— His meeting with Andre. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE INVASION OF CANADA 

Ethan Allen urges an immediate advance upon Canada 
—Col. Hinman's incompetence— Schuyler arrives at 
Ticonderoga and begins construction of boats — 
Troops assembled for a Canadian invasion— Capt. 
Remember Baker killed on a scouting expedition- 
Gen. Montgomery begins his advance northward- 
Ethan Allen captured by the British — St. Johns and 
Montreal taken— Montgomery's death and the 
repulse at Quebec— Benjamin Franklin and Con- 
gressional committee visit the army in Canada— Epi- 
demic of smallpox— Retreat of the American army 
—Suffering and sickness at camps at Crown Point 
and Ticonderoga. 



CHAPTER X 

ARNOLD'S NAVAL BATTLE 

Arnold assigned to the task of building and commanding 
the fleet on Lake Champlain— British preparations at 
St. Johns— Arnold sails northward looking for the 



14 A History of Lake Champlain 

enemy -Attacked near Valcour Island Oct. 11 by the 
British fleet-A desperate battle fought-Arnold 
steals away with his crippled ships under cover of 
darkness-Overtaken near the mouth of the Boquet 
River, Oct. 13, a 'running fight follows— Arnold 
obliged to beach and burn his ships on the Panton 
shore— The losses— British occupy Crown Point, 
make a demonstration before Ticonderoga, and 
return to Canada for the winter— Importance of 
Arnold's engagement to the American cause. 



CHAPTER XI 

BURGOYNE'S INVASION 

Gen. St. Clair assigned to command at Ticonderoga— The 
system of fortifications— The garrison entirely inad- 
equate— Burgoyne supersedes Carleton as British 
commander— With his army he leaves St. Johns-A 
war feast given to the Indians— The advance upon 
Ticonderoga— Burgoyne's bombastic proclamation- 
Mount Defiance occupied and St. Clair compelled to 
evacuate the fortress— The retreat by water to 
Skenesborough— The army abandons the post, which 
is occupied by Fraser— American defeat at Hub- 
bardton— Completeness of Burgoyne's victory and 
its effects— The march through the wilderness to 
Fort Edward— Capt. Ebenezer Allen recaptures 
Mount Defiance— Unsuccessful attempt to recover 
Ticonderoga— Burgoyne's surrender and the aban- 
donment of most of the Champlain posts— Effect of 
the British invasion. 



A History of Lake Champlain 15 

CHAPTER XII 

THE COMING OF PEACE 

The battle at Pierson's farm, in Shelburne— Gates plans 
another Canadian invasion, which fails to material- 
ize—Raids in the Champlain valley in 1778 and 1779 
—British demonstrations on the lake in 1780 and 
1781— Posts retained by the British after the close of 
the war— Washington's visit to the lake— Rapid set- 
tlement of the valley— Founding of Plattsburgh and 
other settlements on the west side of the lake— Set- 
tlements on the east side -Town of Burlington or- 
ganized—The formation of Vermont counties— Re- 
markable increase of population in twenty-five years 
following the close of the Revolutionary War- 
Smuggling operations. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR OF 1812 

The assembling of troops at Burlington and Plattsburgh 
—Lieut. Thomas Macdonough takes command of 
naval operations on the lake— Lieut. Sidney Smith 
defeated at Isle aux Noix and the Growler and the 
Eagle captured— Gen. Wade Hampton takes com- 
mand of the army at Burlington— British raid on 
Plattsburgh— Demonstration off Burlington— Pub- 
lic property burned at Swanton— Hampton's unsuc- 
cessful Canadian invasion— Col. Isaac Clark's sue- 



16 A History of Lake Champlain 

cessful raid on Philipsburg— Gov. Chittenden at- 
tempts to recall Vermont troops from Plattsburgh- 
The building of Macdonough's fleet— British repulsed 
at Fort Cassin— Comparison between cost of Mac- 
donough's fleet and modern warships. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURGH 
Gen. Izard ordered away from Plattsburgh— Gen. Ma- 
comb concentrates regulars and militia there— Ap- 
proach of the British army— The American defences 
—Skirmish lines driven in— British fleet advances to 
Isle La Motte— Macdonough's naval strength-The 
superiority of the British squadron— Macdonough's 
careful preparations— Opening of naval battle of 
Plattsburgh Sept. 11, 1814— A desperately contested 
engagement— Capt. Downie killed— British fleet de- 
feated and captured— The losses— Retreat of the 
British army— Honors for the victors— Importance of 
Macdonough's triumph— Close of the war— Building 
of Fort Montgomery-Treaty regarding naval 
strength on the lake. 



CHAPTER XV 

NA VIGA TIO N ON LAKE C HA MPLA I N 

The beginnings of lake navigation— The building and 
operation of sailing craft— Early navigators— Build- 
ing of first Vermont, the world's second successful 



A History of Lake Champlain 17 

steamboat— Early days of steam navigation— Burn- 
ing of the Phoenix— Construction of the Champlain 
Canal and navigation through that waterway- 
Chambly Canal constructed— Development of 
freight business-Champlain Transportation Com- 
pany organized— Early days of steamboat traffic 
-Charles Dickens on Capt. Richard Sherman—The 
element of railroad competition— Steamboats of 
later days— A list of steamboat captains. 



CHAPTER XVI 

SOME LAKE CHAMPLAIN INCIDENTS 

Floods of 1811 and 1830-Gen. Montgomery's body 
brought from Quebec— John Brown's body brought 
home— Presidential visits— Vice President Theodore 
Roosevelt at Isle La Motte when President McKin- 
ley was shot at Buffalo— The lumber and iron indus- 
tries—Establishment of military posts at Plattsburgh 
and Fort Ethan Allen— Names of some famous per- 
sons associated with Lake Champlain history. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 

LAKE CHAMPLAIN is one of the largest bodies 
of fresh water in the United States, being 
exceeded in size by the Great Lakes, and by 
Lake Okechobee, in Florida, which is so shallow that in 
part it is more marsh than lake. Judged by the stand- 
ard of historic interest, Lake Champlain has no rival 
in all the continent of North America; and in natural 
scenic beauty, it ranks with the best the world affords. 
Lying in the valley between the Green and the 
Adirondack Mountain ranges, this lake is '118 miles long, 
measured from Whitehall, N. Y. to the northern ex- 
tremity of Missisquoi Bay, which extends a few miles 
into Canada. Its greatest width is 12 1-8 miles from the 
mouth of the Ausable River, on the west to the head of 
Malletts Bay, on the east, the average width being 4 1-8 
miles. Its greatest depth is 399 feet, off Essex, N. Y. 
Lake George flows into Lake Champlain. The more im- 
portant tributary streams from Vermont include the 
Missisquoi, Lamoille, Winooski, Otter Creek, and Poult- 
ney; and from New York, the Big and Little Chazy, the 
Saranac, the Salmon, the Boquet, and the Great and 
Little Ausable. The deep channel of the lake forms the 
boundary line between the States of Vermont and New 
York, the greater part of the area lying within the limits 
of the Green Mountain State. Its waters are discharged 
northward through the Richelieu River into the St. Law- 
rence, and thence into the Atlantic Ocean, thus forming 
an exception to the direction in which the waters of most 



A History of Lake Champlain 19 

of the lakes and rivers of the United States flow, which 
is toward the south. The Champlain Canal, between 
Whitehall and Waterford, connects the lake with the 
Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, while the Cham- 
bly Canal, between St. Johns and Chambly, Que., makes 
navigation possible around the rapids of the Richelieu 
to the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

The larger islands in Lake Champlain include Grand 
Isle, North Hero, Isle La Motte, Valcour, Schuylers, 
Juniper, and the Four Brothers, called by the French the 
Islands of the Four Winds. Lake Champlain has been 
called the Lake of the Iroquois; Peta-wa-bouque, 
meaning alternate land and water; Peta-pargow, or the 
great water; and Lake Corlaer, after Arendt Van Corlaer, 
a popular New York official, who was drowned in its 
waters in 1667. 

When the world was very much younger than it is 
today, so long ago that our years hardly enter into the 
reckoning, Lake Champlain was a part of the Atlantic 
Ocean. At a later period the valley between the Green 
Mountains and the Adirondacks was filled, destroying 
the connection between the waters of the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence and an interior sea. Geology tells us, if we 
follow the story written upon tablets of stone, of a Cham- 
plain River flowing northerly, through what is now the 
deep channel of the lake, the valley having been elevated. 
Much later this stream was dammed between the present 
international boundary line and the St. Lawrence by 
glacial material, brought from the north during the Ice 
Age. At one time this lake appears to have discharged 
its waters into the Hudson River, but another convulsion 
of nature restored the northern outlet. 



20 A History of Lake Champlain 

At a period not far removed, as the geologist meas- 
ures duration, but thousands of years ago according to 
our method of reckoning time, Lake Champlain still 
covered a much larger area than it does to-day. It is easy 
to find on many limestone ledges the cavernous holes 
worn by centuries of wave action. Many terraces may 
be seen showing the manner in which the waters gradu- 
ally receded, and some of the highest elevations in the 
valley probably were islands at one time. 

No evidence has been found to prove that any white 
man had visited Lake Champlain, or the region in its im- 
mediate vicinity, previous to the year 1609. In that 
year Samuel Champlain, "Father of New France," found- 
er of Quebec, mariner, explorer, and warrior, agreed 
to accompany the Huron, Montagnais, and Algon- 
quin Indians against their powerful enemies to the south, 
the Iroquois, or Five Nations, of which confederation 
the Mohawks were prominent members, and near neigh- 
bors to their northern foes. After nearly a week spent 
in war dances and festivities at Quebec, toward the end 
of June, Champlain, with eleven Frenchmen and his 
Indian allies, started on a war expedition into the Iro- 
quois country. Two days were spent at the mouth of 
the Richelieu River, and a disagreement arising regard- 
ing the war plans, a part of the Indians decided to return 
to their homes. Champlain and his countrymen, in a 
small shallop, setting out on the journey outsailed their 
savage allies and crossing Chambly Basin discovered the 
Chambly rapids. The Indians had assured Champlain 
that the route was an easy one, and his first impluse, find- 
ing himself deceived, and being unable to proceed with the 
shallop, was to turn back. His desire, however, to see 
the "large lake filled with beautiful islands," of which 



A History of Lake Champlain 2 1 

he had been told, was stronger than his displeasure, 
and he determined to go on. He says that "up to this 
time no Christians had been as far as this place except 
us." Only two of the Frenchmen in the party volun- 
teered to proceed with their leader, the others returning 
to Quebec. The war party was a small one with which 
to make a foray into the enemy's country. It consisted 
of the French leader, his two white companions, and 
sixty Indians, in twenty-four canoes. Leaving the 
head of the Chambly rapids on July 2, the canoes, arms, 
and baggage were carried around the most dangerous 
part of the rapids. Champlain and some of the Indians 
then reembarked in the canoes, the rest of the party 
proceeding by land until smooth water was found. The 
journey was continued until an island was reached which 
Bourne, one of the translators of Champlain's journals, 
says was St. Therese. The explorer describes the island 
as being covered with the most beautiful pines he had 
ever seen. Here a stop was made and the Indians 
went on a brief hunting expedition. Going on a little 
farther, a camp was made for the night. 

In his narrative Champlain tells of the Indian 
method of making such a camp. Bark was stripped from 
the trees with which to cover their temporary huts, and 
large trees were cut down on three sides to form a barri- 
cade, the river forming the fourth side. Several scouts 
were sent out to reconnoitre some distance in front. It 
was their custom, if no signs of an enemy were dis- 
covered, to leave no sentinels on guard, the whole party 
lying down for the night. Champlain criticised his allies 
for the laxity of their methods, but they told him that 
they worked enough by day. No fire was made for cook- 
ing while in the enemy's country, but Indian meal 



22 A History of Lake Champlain 

cakes were carried for such occasions, which were soaked 
in water and then eaten. 

Champlain also describes the operations of the sooth- 
sayer or medicine man who concealed himself in a little 
hut and performed certain incantations, pretending to 
learn from the devil the events that were to occur. 

On the next day, July 3, the party continued up the 
Richelieu River as far as the entrance to the lake. The 
French explorer mentions the many pretty islands that 
he saw, low and covered with forests and meadows, 
wherein he found stags, fallow deer, fawns, roebucks, 
and other animals. There were many beavers in this 
river and its tributaries. Notwithstanding the beauty of 
this region it was not inhabited, as the vicinity of this 
ancient highway for war parties was an unsafe place in 
which to dwell. 

According to Champlain's own record, he entered 
the lake on July 4, a day of good omen. He says that 
he left the head of the Chambly rapids on July 2. 
That night the party camped about three leagues beyond 
a certain island. The next day they continued as far as 
the entrance to* the lake, and the day following they 
entered the lake. Some authorities hold that the date of 
the discovery was July 14, instead of July 4. Park- 
man says that "his [Champlain's] dates in this part of 
his narrative are exceedingly careless and confused, 
May and June being mixed indiscriminately." It is 
argued that Champlain could not have spent nearly four 
weeks on the lake between the discovery and the encoun- 
ter with the enemy, which he says was on July 30. 
The same argument, in lesser degree, may be urged 
against July 14 as the date of discovery. Apparently 
he did not need two weeks in which to travel as far 
as the scene of the battle with the Iroquois. 



A History of Lake Champlain 23 

The period between the discovery and the battle at 
the southern end of the lake is largely a sealed book. 
The fact that this was a war party, following a route 
where the enemy might be encountered at any hour, 
would lead to the belief that no time would be spent in 
exploring the country, but rather that the warriors 
would press forward in eager haste to strike the foe at 
the earliest opportunity; and yet, whether the period 
spent in traversing the lake be counted two weeks, or 
four, it was much longer in either event than would be 
required to make such a journey under normal condi- 
tions. Earlier in his narrative Champlain refers to Lake 
Ontario as "ten days' journey long," and that lake is 
at least twice as long as Champlain's journey on this 
lake. Five or six days would appear to have been plenty 
of time for the distance covered on the lake. On the 
other hand, if Champlain had explored this region care- 
fully, we might naturally expect that a man so particular 
to record his travels in new countries would have given 
a more complete account of what he saw, yet his descrip- 
tions are such as might have been obtained on a brief 
trip on which only the necessary stops were made. Of 
course some time may have been spent in sending out 
scouting parties, although it is probable that this ex- 
pedition expected to surprise the enemy rather than to 
be surprised by them. Unless additional records are 
found dealing with this period the subject must remain a 
field for speculation, and if we accept the explorer's date 
of the battle as July 30, we may as well accept his date 
of the discovery, July 4. 

Several towns along the lake have claimed a visit 
from Champlain on this trip, and the claim is made with 
more earnestness for Isle La Motte than for any other 



24 A History of Lake Champlain 

place, with the exception of Ticonderoga. It is possible 
that the party did stop there, and that for many centuries 
the island had been a convenient camping ground for 
war parties, as it continued to be for two centuries there- 
after; but this conclusion must be reached by the theory 
of probabilities rather than by any actual proof. 

It has been argued that when Champlain writes of 
stopping in the river at an island three leagues long cov- 
ered with beautiful pines he did not mean Saint Therese, 
or any other island in the Richelieu, but Isle La Motte, 
and that while proceeding from the real entrance to the 
lake to the latter island the explorer supposed he was 
still in the river. 

In his narrative Champlain tells of coming to the 
entrance of the rapids at Chambly Basin, describes what 
took place there, and after determining to go on, says : 
"I left these rapids of the Iroquois [Richelieu] River on 
July 2." This clearly indicates that he left the head 
of the rapids at that time. On this day, following Cham- 
plain's story, the boats and the baggage were carried by 
land half a league, past the swiftest part of the rapids, 
and about half of the party walked along the shore 
another league and a half. If a league is called three 
miles, then about thirty men walked six miles, after 
which the party was reviewed. When the island, "three 
leagues long," was reached a stop was made for a hunt- 
ing expedition, after which the party proceeded another 
three leagues. If Champlain had camped on the same 
island it is probable that he would have said so, and 
according to the theory advanced the camp should 
have been made several miles south of Isle La Motte. 
This would make a journey by canoe of nearly, if not 
quite, fifty miles in one day, including a journey of six 



A History of Lake Champlain 25 

miles on foot, and a stop for a hunting expedition, truly 
a strenuous day's work. That leaves twenty-seven days 
for the rest of the distance, less than one and one-half 
times as far as the route covered in one day. But Cham- 
plain says that they continued their course in the river 
the next day as far as the entrance to the lake and speaks 
of many pretty islands, which are low. If it is conceded 
that the stop for hunting was made at the extreme north 
end of Isle La Motte and the camp of July 2 was made 
at the extreme south end of the same island, it is difficult 
to account for another whole day of "continuing" in the 
"river", where they saw many beautiful low islands. 
These could not have been the larger islands, for he 
alludes to these farther on, when he entered the lake on 
July 4. It is not probable that the party on July 2 
travelled from Chambly to Isle La Motte, or beyond. It 
is not probable that Champlain thought he was still in 
the river after leaving the present site of Rouses Point. 
The width of the lake north of Isle La Motte is not very 
much less than it is all the way to the southern extremity 
of Grand Isle county. Moreover, Champlain was jour- 
neying with Indians who were familiar with these waters. 
They knew the route because it is probable that some of 
them had traversed it frequently, as their fathers had 
done before them. They knew where the river ended 
and where the lake began. Champlain alludes to other 
facts of interest which his Indian companions told him. 
When it is considered that the promise of seeing this 
lake was the incentive which persuaded the French 
leader to undertake a dangerous journey into an enemy's 
country, it is hardly conceivable that the Indians would 
permit him to spend a day and a night on its waters and 
shores, if it can be imagined that he did not know when 



26 A History of Lake Champlain 

he was out of the river, before they informed him that 
his desire had been accomplished. It is vastly more prob- 
able that as they approached the entrance to the lake 
they pointed to.it with joyful eagerness, that they 
might please the great white chieftain, upon whom they 
depended for victory over their enemies. 

Champlain, describing his entrance into the lake, 
says it was "of great extent," and tells of four beautiful 
islands, "which formerly had been inhabited by savages, 
like the River of the Iroquois; but they had been aban- 
doned since they had been at war with one another." 
Thus the veil is lifted for a brief glimpse into the pre- 
historic period, but whether the occupancy alluded to 
was recent or remote at the time of writing, is unknown. 
The description of the lake as 50 or 60 leagues long and 
the large islands as 10, 12, and 15 leagues long, of course 
is inaccurate. Continuing his description the explorer 
tells of "several rivers which flow into the lake that are 
bordered by many fine trees, of the same sorts that we 
have in France, with a quantity of vines more beautiful 
than any I had seen in any other place; many chestnut 
trees, and I have not seen any at all before, except on 
the shores of the lake, where there is a great abundance 
of fish of a good many varieties." He does not say that 
the Indians told him of trees and vines bordering these 
rivers, but describes what he had seen. This would 
seem to indicate that he explored some of the tributary 
rivers, to a certain extent, at least. It is true that he 
had time to pursue such explorations if his dates are at 
all accurate. 

That the Indians had a fondness for telling fish 
stories is indicated by the description given of the 
chaousarou, supposed by some to be the gar pike, which, 



A History of Lake Cham plain 27 

it is said, sometimes were eight or ten feet long. Cham- 
plain saw some of these fish that were five feet long, "as 
big as a man's thigh, with a head as large as two^fists, 'a 
snout two and a half feet long, and a double row of very 
sharp and dangerous teeth." He adds that the fish 
is "armed with scales so strong that a dagger could not 
pierce them," that it is silver gray in color, and that the 
end of its snout is like that of a pig. The Indians said 
that when they suffered from a headache they cured 
themselves speedily by bleeding the spot where the pain 
was located with the teeth of this fish. The savages de- 
scribed the cunning of this chaousarou, by asserting 
that when it wished to catch certain birds it would lie in 
the weeds or rushes, put its snout out of the water, and 
keep perfectly still. The birds would alight on this half 
open snout, thinking that it was "the trunk of a tree," 
and presently the bird would be drawn under water by 
the feet, fowl being thus transformed into fish. 

Champlain describes his journey up the lake in the 
following words: "Continuing our course in this lake 
on the west side I saw, as I was observing the country, 
some very high mountains on the east side, with snow 
on the top of them. I inquired of the savages if these 
places were inhabited. They told me that they were — 
by the Iroquois — and that in these places there were 
beautiful valleys and open stretches fertile in grain, such 
as I had eaten in this country, with a great many other 
fruits; and that the lake went near some mountains, 
which were perhaps, as it seemed to me, about fifteen 
leagues from us. I saw on the south others not less high 
than the first, but they had no snow at all. The savages 
told me that it was there that we were to go to find their 



28 A History of Lake Champlain 

enemies, and that these mountains were thickly peopled. 
They also said that it was necessary to pass a rapid, which 
I saw afterward, and from there to enter another lake, 
three or four leagues long, and that when we had reached 
the end of that it would be necessary to follow a trail for 
four leagues, and to pass over a river which empties on 
the coast of the Almouchiquois, near the coast of 
Norumbegue; and that it was only two days' journey by 
their canoes, as I have [also] learned since from some 
prisoners that we took who described to us very much in 
detail all that they had found out themselves about the 
matter through some Algonquin interpreters who knew 
the Iroquois language." 

Champlain's reference to mountains on the east side 
of the lake, evidently the Green Mountains, the tops of 
which were covered with snow, is not easily explained. 
It is difficult to believe that these mountains actually 
were snow capped in July, so that an observer passing 
through the lake, along the western shore, could see their 
glistening summits. Had the season been so cold that 
winter thus lingered, not "in the lap of spring," but in 
the lap of summer, it might be expected that a close 
observer like Champlain would have recorded the fact, 
earlier in his journals. Such evidence as there is indicates 
a normal season, for the writer describes the abundance 
of vines and verdure. It is possible that a cloud form- 
ation may have appeared like snow on the mountain sum- 
mits, or that a landslide on the slope of Mansfield or 
Camel's Hump in certain lights may have suggested 
snow. 

There is no evidence to prove that in later years the 
Iroquois or members of any other tribe in considerable 
numbers permanently occupied the hills and valleys of 



A History of Lake Champlain 29 

the Green Mountain region for the cultivation of grains 
and fruits, and it may be that the Indian allies, desiring 
to tell a pleasant tale, drew to some extent upon their 
imaginations for details. The mountains to the south 
evidently were the Adirondacks. The other lake to 
which reference is made clearly is Lake George, and the 
rapid is the outlet of that lake. The description of the 
route to the Mohawk country by way of Lake George 
and the Hudson is a plain one, but the war party was not 
destined to follow it, as it is probable they had expected 
to do. 

As Champlain and his companions approached 
within two or three days' journey of the region inhabited 
by the Iroquois more care was taken, traveling being 
done by night. During the day they rested in the 
forests, which, extending to the margin of the water, 
must have furnished a beautiful emerald setting for the 
lake. The fact that Champlain had a dream in which he 
saw the Iroquois drowning was considered a most 
encouraging omen, and produced great joy in the camp 
of the Hurons, Montagnais, and Algonquins. 

The story of the battle is best told in Champlain's 
own words. He says: "When evening came we em- 
barked in our canoes to continue our way; and, as we 
were going along very quietly, and without making any 
noise, on the twenty-ninth of the month, we met the 
Iroquois at ten o'clock at night at the end of a cape that 
projects into the lake on the west side, and they were 
coming to war. We both began making loud cries, each 
getting his arms ready. We withdrew toward the water 
and the Iroquois went ashore and arranged their canoes 
in line, and began to cut down trees with poor axes, 
which they get in war sometimes, and also with others 
of stone; and they barricaded themselves very well. 



30 A History of Lake Champlain 

"Our men also passed the whole night with their 
canoes drawn up close together, fastened to poles, so that 
they might not get scattered, and might fight all together, 
if there were need of it; we were on the water within 
arrow range of the side where the barricades were. 

"When they were armed and in array, they sent two 
canoes set apart from the others to learn from their en- 
emies if they wanted to fight. They replied that they 
desired nothing else but that, at the moment, there was 
not much light and they must wait for the daylight to 
recognize each other, and that as soon as the sun rose 
they would open the battle. This was accepted by our 
men; and while we waited, the whole night was passed 
in dances and songs, as much on one side as on the other, 
with endless insults, and other talk, such as the little 
courage they had, their feebleness and inability to make 
resistance against their arms, and that when day came 
they should feel it to their ruin. Our men also were not 
lacking in retort, telling them that they should see such 
power of arms as never before; amid much other talk, as 
is customary in the siege of a city. After plenty of sing- 
ing, dancing and parleying with one another, daylight 
came. Mycompanions and I lay concealed for fear that 
the enemy should see us, preparing our arms the best 
that we could, separated, however, each in one of the 
canoes of the Montagnais savages. After arming our- 
selves with light armor, each of us took an arquebuse 
and went ashore. I saw the enemy come out of their 
barricade, nearly 200 men, strong and robust to look at, 
coming slowly toward us with a dignity and assurance 
that pleased me very much. At their head there were 
three chiefs. Our men also went forth in the same order, 
and they told me that those who wore three large plumes 



A History of Lake Cham plain 31 

were the chiefs; and that there were only three of them; 
and that they were recognizable by these plumes, which 
were a great deal larger than those of their companions; 
and that I should do all that I could to kill them. I 
promised them to do all in my power, and said that I 
was very sorry that they could not understand me well, 
so that I might give order and system to their attack of 
the enemy, in which case we should undoubtedly destroy 
them all; but that this could not be remedied; that I 
was very glad to encourage them and to show them the 
goodwill that I felt, when we should engage in battle. 

"As soon as we went ashore they began to run about 
200 paces toward their enemy, who were standing firmly 
and had not yet noticed my companions, who went into 
the woods with some savages. Our men began to 
call me with loud cries; and to give me a passageway, 
they divided into two parts and put me at their head, 
where I marched about twenty paces in front of them 
until I was thirty paces from the enemy. They at 
once saw me and halted, looking at me, and I at 
them. When I saw them making move to shoot 
at us, I rested my arquebuse against my cheek 
and aimed directly at one of the three chiefs. With 
the same shot two of them fell to the ground, 
and one of their companions who was wounded and 
afterward died. I put four balls into my arquebuse. 
When our men saw this shot so favorable for them, they 
began to make cries so loud that one could not have 
heard it thunder. Meanwhile the arrows did not fail to 
fly from both sides. The Iroquois were much astonished 
that two men had been so quickly killed, although they 
were provided with armor woven from cotton thread and 
from wood, proof against their arrows. This 



32 A History of Lake Champlain 

alarmed them greatly. As I was loading again one of 
my companions fired a shot from the woods, which 
astonished them again to such a degree that, seeing their 
chiefs dead, they lost courage, took to flight and aban- 
doned the field and their fort, fleeing into the depths of 
the woods. Pursuing them thither I killed some more of 
them. Our savages also killed several of them and took 
ten or twelve of them prisoners. The rest escaped with 
the wounded. There were fifteen or sixteen of our men 
wounded by arrow shots, who were soon healed. 

"After we had gained the victory they amused 
themselves by taking a great quantity of Indian corn and 
meal from their enemies, and also their arms, which they 
had left in order to run better. And having made good 
cheer, danced and sung, we returned three hours after- 
ward with the prisoners. 

"This place, where this charge was made, is in lati- 
tude 43 degrees and some minutes and I named the lake 
Lake Champlain." 

There has been no little discussion over the place 
where this battle was fought, the principal claims being 
made in behalf of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. The 
description of the cape near which the battle was fought, 
and the latitude, apply to Ticonderoga more clearly than 
to Crown Point. There is, however, one fact which 
seems to establish the claim of Ticonderoga beyond dis- 
pute. When Champlain's Indian allies were telling him 
of the route to be taken into the Iroquois country by 
the way of Lake George, they said it was necessary to 
pass a rapid, "which I saw afterward," says the explorer 
in describing the incident. Then he describes the en- 
trance to Lake George very plainly, so that his meaning 
cannot be misunderstood. There is no evidence to show 



A History of Lake Champlain 33 

that Champlain visited this lake again. This "rapid" 
was in the outlet of Lake George, the rapids beginning 
about a mile and a half from Lake Champlain, and if 
the explorer saw these rapids, as he says he did in lan- 
guage that cannot be mistaken, it must have been on this 
expedition. If the battle had been at Crown Point, he 
could not have gone on to Ticonderoga, for three hours 
after the battle the return trip was begun. Champlain 
tells of pursuing the fleeing Iroquois "into the depths of 
the woods." On this occasion he might well have 
gone a mile or two from shore, as far as the rapids. No 
satisfactory explanation can be made of this visit to the 
rapids unless the scene of the conflict is laid at Ticon- 
deroga. 

After traveling eight leagues to the northward a 
stop was made, as evening fell, and the victors, by means 
of the most barbarous tortures, proceeded to put one of 
their prisoners to death, Champlain being greatly dis- 
tressed at the revolting spectacle. The other prisoners 
were taken into Canada. The party separated at the 
rapids of the Richelieu, the Indians expressing their 
gratitude for the powerful aid of the French. 

The results of Champlain's battle with the Iroquois 
are written red in the annals of New France. What 
appeared to be an unimportant skirmish with a few sav- 
ages made the powerful Iroquois confederacy the bitter 
enemies of the French, an advantage of which the 
British were not slow to avail themselves, and which 
counted heavily in favor of the latter in the long con- 
flict for supremacy in North America, which was to 
follow. 

It is sometimes forgotten at what an early date, com- 
paratively speaking, Lake Champlain was discovered. 



34 A History of Lake Champlain 

New England was then an unsettled, and practically 
an unexplored wilderness. The only British post on the 
whole Atlantic seaboard had been established the pre- 
vious year, in 1608, at Jamestown, in Virginia. The 
French had established themselves at Port Royal, Nova 
Scotia, in 1605, and at Quebec, in 1608. Far to the 
south the Spanish held St. Augustine, in Florida, and, 
hundreds of miles to the westward, Santa Fe, in what is 
now New Mexico. It was not until later in the year 1609 
that Henry Hudson discovered the Delaware River, and 
the stream to which he gave his own name — the Hudson. 
Eight years later the Connecticut River was explored. 
Not until 1626 did Peter Minuits purchase the island of 
Manhattan, and Boston was not founded until 1630. In 
this year, 1609, Pastor John Robinson led the English 
Pilgrims, then in Holland, from Amsterdam to Leyden, 
from which they were destined to sail eleven years after- 
ward, with a brief stop in England, to found Plymouth 
colony in Massachusetts. 

Henry IV, better known as Henry of Navarre, was 
King of France. James I was monarch of Great Britain, 
Queen Elizabeth having been dead six years. Only a 
score of years had passed since the defeat of the Span- 
ish Armada. Shakespeare, Bacon, and Sir Walter Raleigh 
were living, and John Milton was an infant less than 
one year old. 

Champlain at this time was in the very prime of life, 
being about 42 years old. He was a native of Brouage, 
then a little seaport town of the old province of Saint- 
onge, France, but now nearly two miles inland. From 
boyhood he had been interested in the sea. His first 
voyage was to Spain with his uncle. In 1599 he had 
commanded a ship on a cruise to the West Indies and 



A History of Lake Champlain 35 

New Spain. He landed at Vera Cruz, visited the city of 
Mexico, and stopping at Panama he saw the opportunity 
for, and the importance of, a canal across the isthmus. 
He had explored the mouth of the St. Lawrence 
and the coasts of Nova Scotia and New England, and 
had written of his voyages in his journals. He was a 
man of remarkable versatility, and was able to adapt 
himself with ease to life at the court of the King or in 
the camp of the savage. He was a zealous servant, both 
of the King of Kings and the monarch of France, 
earnestly seeking the propagation of the Christian 
religion, and the extension of the national domain. 

For twenty-six years following the discovery of the 
lake which bears his name, or until his death at Quebec 
on Christmas day, 1635, Samuel Champlain was the hope 
of France in the New World. He continued his explor- 
ations far to the westward with tireless zeal and he 
endured all manner of hardships and privations for his 
faith, for his King, and for his country. With few ex- 
ceptions Champlain was wise and discreet in his public 
policies, and he was always honorable and devout in his 
private life. He had far-sighted plans for the welfare of 
Canada, his chief desire being the colonization of the 
country and the establishment of the Christian religion 
among the savages. In pursuance of the latter desire he 
obtained the consent of both Pope and King that the 
Recollet fathers might begin missionary work in 
America, and the first band of missionaries left France 
in 1615. Later, the Jesuits were asked to assist in the 
work, and came to Canada in large numbers. Notwith- 
standing his error in attacking the Iroquois, his services 
were of inestimable value to France, and his death was 
an irreparable loss to the country which he had served so 



36 A History of Lake Champlain 

long and so well. His brilliant dreams were not prophetic 
of future glory, his noble ambitions often were unsatis- 
fied, his fervent prayers for the permanent triumph of 
France were unanswered; but the lake which he dis- 
covered in the year 1609 will ever perpetuate the name 
of one of the bravest soldiers, one of the truest gentle- 
men, and the foremost explorer of all the pioneers of 
France in the Western world. 



38 A History of Lake Champlain 

^CHAPTER II. 

THE FRENCH OCCUPATION 

There is no"evidence to show that the discovery of 
Lake Champlain was followed for many years by any def- 
inite attempts at farther exploration in this region. How 
soon after establishing themselves in Canada the Jesuit 
Fathers, or Black Gowns, as they were often called, turn- 
ed their attention to the Iroquois country to the south- 
ward, is largely a matter of speculation, but it is probable 
that it was twenty or twenty-five years at least after 
Champlain's expedition into the borders of that region. 
A few allusions are made in the "Jesuit Relations," the 
voluminous records of that religious order, to some mis- 
sionary work among the Iroquois." 

j*v In a letter to Governor Denonville, dated March 8, 
1688, and dealing with Canadian affairs, it is stated that 
"the King has for over forty years kept at his own ex- 
pense in the Iroquois country several Frenchmen, who, 
with some Jesuit missionaries have been to build and 
have resided in the five Iroquois countries, all at the same 
time, down to these latter days, when the rumors of war 
have forced them to retire, one after another." 
yj One of the most famous of these Jesuit missionaries 
was Father Isaac Jogues, who suffered almost incredible 
tortures for his faith and finally gave up his life as a Chris- 
tian martyr among the savage Iroquois. 
|2^In 1642 a fort called Richelieu was built at the mouth 
of the river bearing the same name, by M. Montmagny 
as a defence against the Five Nations. At this time the 



A History of Lake Champlain 39 

savages were particularly aggressive, and the Canadian 
settlements were in constant peril. Fort Richelieu was 
abandoned late in 1645, burned by the Iroquois, prob- 
ably in the spring of 1646, and rebuilt in 1665 by M. de 
Chambly. Two other forts were now built on the Rich- 
elieu River. The first was seventeen leagues south of 
Fort Richelieu, being constructed under the direction of 
M. de Sorel, and was named Fort St. Louis, in honor of 
the saint whose holy week saw its inception ; the second 
was about three leagues farther south, and was called 
Fort St. Therese, because it was completed on St. Ther- 
esa's day. From this fort, the French records say, "we 
can easily reach Lake Champlain without meeting any 
rapids to stop the bateaux." 

In the fall of 1665 M. de Repentigny was sent to Isle 
La Motte to prepare a site for a fort. Thither, in the 
summer of 1666, Pierre de St. Paul, Sieur de la Mothe 
(or la Motte), a captain of the Carignan regiment, with 
a few companies of soldiers, was sent to build a fort. It 
was completed in July, about the time that M. de Chazy 
was killed near the mouth of the river bearing his name, 
and it was dedicated to St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin. 
The width of this fort was 96 feet, but its exact length 
cannot be determined as one end of the site has been 
washed away. The dimension that is known is similar to 
the width of Forts Richelieu and St. Therese. If the 
length also was the same it was 144 feet. A chapel 
in honor of St. Anne was also erected here in 1666. 

Late in the year 1665, Daniel de Remy, Sieur de 
Courcelles, governor of New France, was ordered to pre- 
pare with haste an expedition into the country of the hos- 
tile Indians, and he started Jan. 9, 1666, with 300 of the 
Carignan regiment and 200 habitants. The weather 



40 A History of Lake Champlain 

was very severe and the men suffered greatly by reason of 
the cold . So many men fell out of the ranks on account 
disability that it became necessary to take four compan- 
ies from the forts on the Richelieu River to fill the vacan- 
cies. On Jan. 30, de Courcelles left Fort St. Therese with 
500 men. The snow being four feet deep, snow shoes 
were used, and the men drew their provisions on light 
sledges, as the depth of snow made the use of horses im- 
possible. The soldiers also carried 25 or 30 pounds 
weight on their backs, and the commander carried his 
share like a private in the ranks. 

Passing up Lake Champlain on the ice, the expedi- 
tion started across country toward the Mohawk villages. 
De Courcelles lost his way, through the incompetence of 
his guides, and passing too far to the south, he reached the 
the vicinity of what is now Schenectady, on Feb. 9. A 
small party of Mohawks appearing, the Indians were pur- 
sued by sixty of the French Fusiliers, who were drawn 
into an ambuscade, some 200 savages being hidden in the 
forest. Eleven Frenchmen, including a lieutenant, were 
killed, and several were wounded. The soldiers fired a 
volley and fell back. The Mohawks also retired, taking 
four scalps as trophies. The Indian loss was three men 
killed and six wounded. It is asserted that the exertions 
of Arendt Van Corlear, a prominent and popular New 
Yorkofiicial, prevented the massacre of the French party. 

The English at Albany (Fort Orange), desiring to 
learn the meaning of this expedition, sent a delegation of 
three citizens to de Courcelles to inquire as to the nature 
of the invasion. The French commander assured them 
that his only purpose was to punish the Mohawks for 
their attacks upon the Canadian settlements and that 
they had no hostile designs upon the English. This 



A History of Lake Champlain 41 

explanation being considered satisfactory the wounded 
were sent to Albany, and needed provisions were sold 
to the French troops. 

Having rested his men until Feb. 12, de Courcelles 
returned with all possible speed to Lake Champlain and 
thence to Canada. The Mohawks followed the invaders 
as far as the lake, taking three prisoners, and finding, 
according to British records, the bodies of five men, who 
were victims of cold or hunger. Charlevoix, in his 
"History of New France," says sixty men perished of 
hunger on the homeward march. 

The expedition of de Courcelles could not be counted 
as a brilliant success. He had failed to strike the Mo- 
hawk villages, and he had narrowly escaped losing 
his entire force. He had, however, created some alarm 
among the Mohawks, which was increased by information 
given by the prisoners to the effect that a more form- 
idable invasion might be expected later that year. 

The Indians were far from being subdued by the de 
Courcelles expedition. The hostility aroused by Cham- 
plain's attack, more than half a century before, is re- 
flected in the instructions issued by the King, in March, 
1665, to M. Talon, intendant of police, justice, and finance 
of New France, in which he declares that the Iroquois 
"are all perpetual and irreconcilable enemies of the col- 
ony." He adds that they have "prevented the country 
being more peopled than it is at present, and by their 
surprises and unexpected forays always keeping the 
country in check; [and] the King has resolved with a 
view of applying a suitable remedy thereto to carry the 
war even to their firesides to totally exterminate them 
having no guarantee in their words, for they violate their 
faith as often as they find the inhabitants at their mercy." 



42 A History of Lake Champlain 

The King's determination to subdue the hostile sav- 
ages had found expression in sending to Quebec Alexan- 
der de Prouville, Marquis de Tracy, "member of His 
Majesty's councils and lieutenant general of his armies, 
both in the islands and mainland of South and North 
America, as well by sea as by land." De Tracy had been 
sent out as viceroy in 1664, and was accompanied by 
many young nobles. He had an honorable record as a 
soldier, and at this time was well advanced in years. He 
had been ordered to Quebec from the Antilles to put an 
end, if possible, to the intolerable persecution of the hos- 
tile savages. Three tribes of the Five Nations, upon 
hearing of the building of Fort St. Anne and the fortifica- 
tions on the Richelieu, sent messengers seeking terms of 
peace, and were sent home laden with presents; but the 
Mohawks and Oneidas remained sullenly aloof. After 
the expedition led by de Courcelles had returned these 
two hostile tribes made overtures of peace, and de Tracy, 
somewhat reluctantly, accepted their proposals. About 
this time, however, while a small party of officers were 
hunting and fishing near Fort St. Anne, on Isle La Motte, 
they were attacked by a band of Mohawks, two captains 
of the Carignan regiment were killed and several prison- 
ers were taken. 

Captain de Sorel, with 300 soldiers, was ordered to 
carry fire and sword immediately into the Mohawk coun- 
try. By forced marches he crossed Lake Champlain and 
started for the Indian villages, where he was met by a de- 
putation of Mohawks, who returned the French captives 
and offered satisfaction for the crimes committed. Sorel 
returned to Quebec, and negotiations were resumed, as a 
result of which a treaty was signed on July 12, by the 
terms of which the Iroquois agreed to become friends and 



A History of Lake Champlain 43 

allies of the French, and to restore the Canadian, Algon- 
quin, and Huron prisoners in their hands. 

This treaty was made only to be broken by the In- 
dians, and de Tracy determined to deal the Mohawks a 
blow so crushing that thereby an effective lesson should 
be taught. A punitive expedition was organized under 
M. de Talon with orders to rendezvous on Sept. 28, 1666, 
at Fort St. Anne. The nucleus of the expedition con- 
sisted of 600 seasoned veterans of the Carignan-Salieres 
regiment, an organization which had gained distinction 
under Count Coligny in the service of Emperor Leopold 
against the Turks. The regular troops were assembled 
at Isle La Motte, in and about the fort. On the shore of 
the mainland, to the west, were encamped 600 habitants, 
or Canadian volunteers, and 100 Algonquin and Huron 
warriors. 

This rendezvous is a scene that appeals to the imagi- 
nation. Here, in the early fall, with the great for- 
ests all about them just taking on the most brilliant tints 
of autumnal foliage, at the last outpost to the southward 
of the French dominions in this part of America, on a lit- 
tle island farther from civilization than any spot on the 
globe to-day, was assembled a company of men in armor, 
who had won renown on manya hard fought field in Eu- 
rope. They represented the established order of military 
science; and they had for allies, not only the half breed 
peasants of New France, but naked, painted savage 
warriors of North America. The two extremes of the 
world's fighting men here met; and the French were go- 
ing out, still farther into the vast wilderness , to fight 
other savages, whose methods of warfare were not written 
in any book of military tactics known to soldiers. 

On Oct. 1, de Courcelles left Fort St. Anne with a 
vanguard of 400 men. Two days later de Tracy set out 



44 A History of Lake Champlain 

with the main body of the troops, accompanied by Chev- 
alier de Chaumont, and other officers. On Oct. 7, Cap- 
tains Sorel, Berthier, and Chambly followed with the 
rearguard. Slow progress was made up the lake, as 300 
canoes and light bateaux were carried for crossing the 
lakes and rivers along the route, and two small pieces of 
artillery were taken with which to force any fortifications 
the enemy might have constructed. 

The expedition had been provided with provisions to 
last until the Mohawk country should be reached, but 
these had not been carefully husbanded. As a result the 
supplies failed before the destination was reached, and 
the troops were ready to disband in search for food, when 
they chanced to come upon a chestnut grove, where they 
obtained a store of nuts, which lasted until they reached 
the first Mohawk village. They entered this encamp- 
ment in battle array, with standards flying, and drums 
beating. The French commander had hoped to sur- 
prise the enemy, but the Mohawks were not a foe easily 
surprised, and being warned in time had abandoned their 
villages, seeking refuge in the mountains, firing now and 
then from their hiding places a shot at the invaders. 

In the first village entered the French found cabins 
well built and adorned. Some of them were 120 feet 
long, and proportionally wide, being covered with boards 
within and without. Enough grain to last the colony for 
two years was found buried. The town was burned and 
a captive Algonquin squaw acted as their guide to the 
next encampment. The villages were ravaged from end 
to end, and many palisades and cabins, together with 
large stores of Indian corn, beans, and other provisions 
were burned, while some women and a few aged men, too 
feeble to flee, were taken prisoners. 



A History of Lake Champlain 45 

The return of the expedition was rendered difficult 
by the rapid rise of the streams, heavy rains having set 
in. A fierce storm was encountered on Lake Champlain, 
during which two canoes were swamped and eight sol- 
diers drowned, among them being Lieutenant du Lugues, 
a young officer who, already by his valor had achieved 
distinction, both in France and Canada. The expedition 
lasted fifty-three days, and won for the colony a peace of 
nearly two decades. It is related of the commander that 
in spite of ill health and his advanced years he was as 
zealous as though "he enjoyed perfect health and was 
only thirty years of age." 

It is written in the French records that "besides the 
taking possession of the Mohawks' country by Sieur de 
Tracy with an armed force in the fall of the year 1666, the 
deputies of the four other Iroquois nations came to said 
M. de Tracy in 1667 and in due form, by an act signed on 
the one part and the other by the Iroquois after their 
fashion and by us after ours, did give themselves to 
the French and placed their country under the King's 
dominion." 

General de Tracy returned to France, Aug. 28, 1667, 
but many of the members of tie Carignan regiment, be- 
ing offered a gratuity to settle in New France as colon- 
ists, made their homes in Canada, and their names — 
Chambly, Chazy, Sorel, and ohers — are perpetuated in 
the geography of that region to this day. 

During the winter of 1666- :3 7 many of the soldiers at 
Fort St. Anne were ill of scurvy General de Tracy asked 
that a priest be sent to the pest, and Father Dollier de 
Casson came from Montreal on snow shoes, and walked 
on the ice to Isle La Motte. Here he celebrated mass, 
and officiated at the burial of thirteen soldiers. Sixty 



46 A History of Lake Champlai?i 

men assembled daily for mass and prayers. Father 
de Casson returned to Montreal in the summer of 1667. 

During this same summer of 1667 three Jesuit priests, 
Fathers Fremin, Pierron, and Bruyas, set out on a jour- 
ney to the lower Iroquois, to restore the missions inter- 
rupted by the wars. Owing to their fear of an Indian 
tribe called the Loups (Wolves) they were detained at 
Fort St. Anne, and conducted a mission for the soldiers. 
While there Father Pierron wrote a letter, dated Aug. 
12, 1667, which, so far as known, was the first written in 
what is now the State of Vermont. Copies are preserved 
in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and in St. Mary's 
College at Montreal. Unfortunately for the curiosity of 
later generations this letter contained no description of 
the fort, but described the writer's voyage to America, 
and the habits and customs of the Iroquois, whose lan- 
guage the writer found to resemble that of the Greeks. 
The priest thought that when he reached his destination 
near the 42nd parallel of latitude he would be "quite near 
to Virginia." 

An Indian legend of Lake Champlain is told by these 
fathers who stopped at Isle La Motte, and is recorded in 
the "Jesuit Relations." The priests left Isle La Motte 
on St. Bartholomew's day and, coming near the southern 
end of the lake, accompanied by Indians, the writer says: 
"Arriving within three quarters of a league of the falls by 
which Lake St. Sacrement [Lake George] empties, we all 
halted at this spot, without knowing why, until we saw 
our savages at the waterside gathering up flints, which 
were almost all cut into shape. We did not at that time 
reflect upon this, but have since then learned the mystery 
for our Iroquois told us that they never fail to halt at 
this place to pay homage to a race of invisible men who 



A History of Lake Champlain 47 

dwell there at the bottom of the lake. These beings 
occupy themselves in preparing flints nearly all cut 
for the passersby, provided the latter pay their re- 
spects to them by giving them tobacco. If they give 
these beings much of it, the latter give them a liberal 
supply of stones. These water men travel in canoes, as 
do the Iroquois ; and when their great captain proceeds to 
throw himself into the water to enter his palace, he 
makes so loud a noise that he fills with fear the minds of 
those who have no knowledge of this great spirit and of 
these little men. 

"At the recital of this fable which our Iroquois told 
us, in all seriousness, we asked them if they did not also 
give some tobacco to the Great Spirit of Heaven, and to 
those who dwelt with Him. The answer was that they 
did not need any, as do people on this earth. The occa- 
sion of this ridiculous story," says the narrative, "is the 
fact that the lake is, in reality, often agitated by very 
frightful tempests, especially in the basin where Sieur 
Corlart [Corlaer] met his death; and when the wind 
comes in the direction of the lake, it drives on the beach 
a quantity of stones which are hard, and capable of strik- 
ing fire." 

One of the fathers tells of passing a fine slate quarry 
five leagues from Lake St. Sacrement, not like those near 
Quebec, but, to use his own words, "this one is quite like 
those I have seen in the Ardennes of our France, its color 
being a beautiful blue." 

In June, 1668, Bishop Laval, the first bishop of Que- 
bec and New France, visited Fort St. Anne and gave con- 
firmation, making the journey both ways in a canoe. 

The fort probably was deserted in 1670, as that year 
Captain LaMothe became the governor of Montreal. 



48 A History of Lake Champlain 

Father Kerlidou, in his work on Isle La Motte, says that 
"before leaving the fort the soldiers burned all the pali- 
sades and barracks; they also took with them every- 
thing that could be easily carried, and which might be of 
use somewhere else." 

Captain La Mothe, some years later, was killed by 
the Indians. His name should not be confounded with 
that of LaMothe de Cadillac, who founded Detroit and 
took such a prominent part in French affairs in the West. 

Fort St. Anne was the first settlement of white men 
within the limits of what is now known as the Stateof Ver- 
mont. Here was the first observance of Christian wor- 
ship in the State; and, although the occupation was not a 
permanent one, the fort being allowed to fall into decay 
after a few years' had passed, it does not seem probable 
that the place ever relapsed entirely into a wilderness. 
Isle La Motte was a favorite stopping place on the fre- 
quently travelled route from Canada to the Hudson val- 
ley. According to the New York Colonial Documents, 
during the war of 1690 the western Iroquois were to meet 
at Fort St. Anne, on Isle La Motte, "an abandoned 
French work on Lake Champlain." 

The site of Fort St. Anne has now passed into the 
possession of the Roman Catholic diocese of Burlington, 
and pilgrimages are made during the summer months to 
the shrine of St. Anne at that place. The site of the old 
fort, which appears to have been lozenge shaped, has 
been excavated with care, and many relics have been se- 
cured. Fourteen mounds were opened in the spring of 
1896, and under every one the ruins of a fireplace, full 
of ashes, was found. Under one mound a brick 
oven was discovered. The foundations of some build- 
ings, 16 by 12 feet, were disclosed, while others were 16 by 



A History of Lake Champlain 49 

32 feet in size. Among the relics unearthed were knives, 
forks, two solid silver spoons, one bearing the name of L. 
Case, broken dishes, buttons, cooking utensils, carpen- 
ters' tools, pipes, pieces of guns, bullets, gun flints, arrow 
heads, tomahawks, Indian pottery, nails, pieces of burned 
timber, and coins, one dated 1656. 



50 A History of Lake Champlain 

CHAPTER III. 
FIRST ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT. 

War between France and Great Britain followed the 
accession of William and Mary to the British throne, in 
1689, and the conflict extended to the American colonies. 
With a few brief intervals of peace, the hostility of the 
Iroquois had continued since the battle with Champlain, 
in 1609. When M. de la Barre, governor of Canada, de- 
clared war on the Iroquois in 1684, Governor Dongan of 
New York took these Indians under British protection 
and caused the royal arms to be set up in their villages, 
taking possession in the name of the British monarch. 

Chevalier de Callieres, governor of Montreal and 
commander of the French troops in Canada, returned to 
Paris in 1689, and submitted to the King a plan for the 
conquest of New York. He had urged the previous year 
that France purchase the colony of New York from 
Great Britain, or exchange it for some of the Antilles, 
saying that it "would render His Majesty master of all 
North America." Learning that New York was not for 
sale or exchange, he proposed, in order to capture this 
desirable province, that a force of 2,000 men be sent by 
way of the Richelieu River and Lake Champlain, and 
that a small log fort be built at the carrying place be- 
tween Wood Creek, at the head of the lake, and the Hud- 
son River. His next move would be to seize Albany, de- 
scend the Hudson, and capture Manatte, or New York. 
The plan of de Callieres included the stationing of two 
warships at the mouth of the Hudson to prevent the 



A History of Lake Champlain 5 1 

sending of aid from Boston, or England. The King 
was pleased with the plan and ordered that it be 
carried into execution. Meanwhile the Iroquois had 
ravaged the Canadian settlements and threatened 
the very existence of the colony. Carrying out the 
orders of the King of France, in response to the sugges- 
tion of de Callieres, a party of 210 men was fitted out 
including 96 Algonquin and Huron Indians, with Sieur 
de St. Helene and Lieutenant de Mantet in command. 
The party left Montreal about the middle of January, 
1690, and crossed Lake Champlain on the ice. Fol- 
lowing the advice of the Indian allies, Schenectady was 
made the objective point. Late on a bitterly cold 
night the war whoop was raised in the streets of the 
town. No warning had been given, the guards 
having been withdrawn on account of the severity of the 
weather. The French under de Mantet captured and 
burned the small fort, putting the garrison to the sword, 
while de St. Helene and his party battered down the bar- 
ricaded doors of the houses with clubbed muskets. For 
two hours the slaughter continued, sixty persons being 
killed, including women and children. Having burned 
every house in the village but two, the attacking party 
started for Canada, taking 27 prisoners, 50 horses, and 
other spoils of war. News of the massacre speedily 
reached Albany, and a party of 50 Englishmen and 150 
Mohawks was collected . The Englishmen proceeded no 
farther than Crown Point, but the Indians followed 
their enemies into Canada, where a detachment that had 
fallen behind the main body was surprised, six being 
killed and twelve taken prisoners. 

On their return trip the French found that the pro- 
visions left by the way had spoiled and their condition 



52 A History of Lake Cham plain 

became so desperate that the soldiers boiled their moc- 
casins with potatoes to satisfy their hunger. 

On March 26, 1690, a small party of English and In- 
dians under Capt. Jacob de Warm proceeded to Crown 
Point from Albany, to watch the enemy. On March 30, 
Capt. Abram Schuyler, with a few Englishmen and a par- 
ty of Mohawks, was sent to the mouth of Otter Creek to 
watch for the approach of a hostile force from the north. 
Captain Schuyler went as far as Chambly with a scout- 
ing party, killing two Frenchmen and taking one prisoner. 

Believing that the safety of the British colonies de- 
pended upon an invasion of Canada, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, and New York agreed upon a joint expedi- 
tion, and Gen. John Winthrop, of Massachusetts, was 
made commander. A naval expedition under Sir William 
Phipps was fitted out to attack Quebec. About Aug. 1, 
800 men left Albany under command of General Win- 
throp. Arriving at Wood Creek, at the southern end of 
Lake Champlain, Winthrop waited several days, and the 
Indians having failed to furnish reinforcements or 
canoes for the passage of the lake, he called a council 
of war, which voted that it was not expedient to con- 
tinue the proposed invasion of Canada. 

Capt. John Schuyler, grandfather of Gen. Philip 
Schuyler, of Revolutionary War fame, was an officer un- 
der Winthrop, and being dissatisfied with the action of 
the council of war he attempted the organization of a 
little invasion of his own. Assembling 29 of his fellow 
countrymen and 120 Indians, he proceeded by way of 
Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River to Laprairie. 
Secreting their canoes, the party concealed them- 
selves in the forest on the border of the settlement. As 
the French started out to cut corn, on the morning of 



A History of Lake Champlain 53 

Aug. 23, Schuyler's band fell upon them, killing six men 
and taking nineteen prisoners, with a loss of only one In- 
dian. All the houses and barns outside the fort were 
burned and 150 cattle were killed. The raiders then re- 
treated in haste to avoid capture by relief parties from 
Chambly and Montreal. On the return trip, Aug. 24, 
they stopped at Isle La Motte. Captain Schuyler, in his 
journal, speaks of stopping at the "Little Stone Fort," 
which may have been a slight fortification thrown up at 
or near Crown Point earlier the same year by Captain de 
Warm. The matter of the de Warm fort is an obscure 
one . It has been claimed that he built a fort on the Ver- 
mont shore at a very early date, but evidence is lacking 
to substantiate this assertion. 

On June 22, 1691, Maj. Philip Schuyler, with 150 
English troops and 300 Indians, traversed the same 
route taken by his brother, Capt. John Schuyler, the pre- 
vious year; surprised and captured Laprairie, killing sev- 
eral of its defenders; fought a desperate battle with a 
French force under Governor de Callieries, largely out- 
numbering his own, which he defeated with a loss of 
about 200 killed and wounded, his own being slight; and 
retreated safely to Albany. 

Encouraged by the success of the British arms the 
Iroquois again harassed the French settlements until an- 
other expedition was considered necessary to teach the 
Mohawks a needed lesson. De Frontenac therefore as- 
sembled a force of 600 or 700 French and Indians at 
Montreal, and about the middle of January, 1693, the 
expedition set out, marching over the ice of Lake Cham- 
plain, across the intervening country, and fell upon the 
Mohawk villages beyond Schenectady. Many of the in- 
habitants were killed, and more than 300 prisoners were 



54 A History of Lake Champlain 

taken. A speedy retreat was made, but Major Schuyler 
with a force of 300 men, hastily assembled, pursued as far 
as the Hudson and recaptured about fifty of the prisoners. 
A severe blizzard prevented the crossing of the river. 
The French suffered terrible privations on this expedition 
and it is said that their Indian allies devoured the dead 
bodies of their enemies. 

After the peace of Ryswick, in 1697, a formal treaty 
was made between the French and the Iroquois. 

In 1702 the conflict known as Queen Anne's War 
was begun. In 1704 a party of 300 French and In 
dians commanded by the cruel de Rouville, followed Lake 
Champlain to the Winooski River, which they ascended, 
crossed the Green Mountains, and, reaching the Connec- 
ticut River, descended that stream and burned the Mass- 
achusetts town of Deerfield. Four years later a party of 
400 French and Indians again crossed the Green Moun- 
tains and burned Haverhill. 

The French became so aggressive that the British 
ministry in 1709, on the urgent representations of the 
colonies, decided to attack Canada. A naval demon- 
stration against Quebec was planned, while it was decid- 
ed that 1,500 men from New York and New England, un- 
under Colonel Nicholson, were to march upon Montreal 
by way of Lake Champlain. The Iroquois sent 500 men 
as their quota. New York aided the cause by opening a 
road from Albany to Lake Champlain. Governor Vau- 
dreuil, of Canada, called a council of war, which decided 
to send a force of 1,500 men to oppose the British 
advance, but dissensions among the officers prevented 
the consummation of the plans for a Canadian invasion. 

Another attack upon Canada was planned in 1711, 
and Colonel Nicholson assembled at Albany 2,000 Brit- 



A History of Lake Champlain 55 

ish troops, 1,000 Germans, and 1,000 Indians. On Aug. 
28, the march towards Lake Champlain was begun, the 
Lake George route being taken. At the same time 6,400 
men under General Hill sailed from Boston on sixty- 
eight transports, for an attack on Quebec. A sudden 
storm scattered the fleet. Eight ships were wrecked, and 
according to Charlevoix, nearly 3,000 men were drowned. 
This disheartening news reached Nicholson's troops at 
Lake George, and the expedition was abandoned. 
r In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, by the 
terms of which France released her nominal sovereignty 
over the Iroquois, and recognized the dominance of 
Great Britain. 

It was not until 1731 that the French fortified a post 
on Lake Champlain. In that year, Marquis de Beauhar- 
nois being governor-general of Canada, a fort was erect- 
ed at Crown Point, which was called St. Frederic, in 
honor of Frederic de Maurepas, the French secretary of 
state. This was only a small stockade, designed to ac- 
commodate thirty men. In 1734 it gave place to a fort- 
ress large enough for 120 men, and in 1742 it was en- 
larged and strengthened, being then, with the exception 
of Quebec, the strongest French fortress in America. 

In October, 1748, Lieutenant Desligneris, a French 
officer, wrote to the governor of New York complaining 
that certain Indians, said to be subjects of Great Britain, 
had recently come to Montreal with a message, and had 
"treacherously killed and carried off some Frenchmen 
from Isle La Motte." 

For the greater part of a century these forays con- 
tinued with occasional cessation. Parkman has said: 
"Through the midst of the great Canadian wilderness 
stretched Lake Champlain, pointing straight to the heart 



56 A History of Lake Champlain 

of the British settlements — a watery thoroughfare of neu- 
tral attack and the only approach by which, without a 
long detour, by wilderness or sea, a hostile army could 
come within striking distance of the colony." 

A long diplomatic controversy was waged between 
France and Great Britain over the country around Lake 
Champlain, the French maintaining their claim by right 
of discovery, and the British by virtue of sovereignty 
over the Iroquois country. 

Very little actual colonization was done by the 
French along Lake Champlain, apart from the military 
posts. About 1731 a settlement was begun at Pointe a 
la Algonquin, later known as Windmill Point, in the wes- 
tern part of the present town of Alburgh. Sieur Fran- 
cois Foucault, a member of the supreme council of Que- 
bec, had been granted a charter by the King of France, 
and this charter was renewed and augmented in May, 
1743. This action was taken in recognition of the fact 
that M. Foucault had, as the charter of confirmation 
states, complied with the conditions of the original 
grant by establishing three new settlers in addition to 
eight who had settled the previous year ; and that he had 
built in that year (1731) a windmill of stone masonry, 
which cost nearly 4,000 livres (about $800). He had 
taken steps to build a church, 20 by 40 feet in size, which 
was to be ready the next spring to receive a missionary. 
A lot of land, two acres in front by forty acres in depth, 
had been conveyed, free of charge, and accepted by the 
Bishop of Quebec, whereon should be built a church and 
a parochial house, with room for a burial ground, and 
land that should aid in the maintenance of a missionary. 
This settlement was short lived, as was another begun 
here in 1741. Later M. Foucault transferred his grant 



A History of Lake Champlain 57 

to Gen. Frederick Haldimand, British governor of Can- 
ada from 1778 to 1784. General Haldimand, in turn, 
sold the property to Henry Caldwell, who lived in Bell- 
mont, a town near Quebec, and for several years there- 
after the present town of Alburgh was known as Cald- 
well's Upper Manor. 

Although few actual settlements were made by the 
French in the Champlain valley, there were many grants 
by the French crown, similar to Foucault's concession. 
Nearly all the land surrounding the lake was granted to 
various individuals, in many instances to army officers 
and Canadian officials. The first public record bearing 
on this subject is an order issued by the King, dated May 
20, 1676, and authorizing such grants on Lake Cham- 
plain. One of the largest of these grants, or seigniories, 
was made on Oct. 7, 1743, to Gilles Hocquart, intendant 
of Canada from 1728 to 1748, at one time councillor of 
state and intendant of the naval forces at Brest. Ac- 
cording to an early map, printed at Albany by Richard 
H. Pease, this seigniory appears to have included the 
present towns of Panton, Addison, Waltham, New Haven, 
Weybridge, and portions of Bridport, Cornwall, Middle- 
bury, and Bristol. In a communication from the Brit- 
ish Board of Trade, addressed to the committee of the 
Privy Council, the lordship of Hocquart is estimated to 
contain about 115,000 acres. In 1764 it was transferred 
to Michael Chartier de Lotbiniere, and in 1758 Marquis 
de Vaudreuil, governor general of Canada, granted to 
Lotbiniere who had laid out the fortress of Ticonderoga, 
the seigniory of Alainville, embracing more than four 
leagues in front and five leagues in depth, lying partly on 
Lake George, and partly on Lake Champlain. 

Among other grants was one made to M. Contre- 
coeur Jr., July 7, 1734, "on the borders of Lake Cham- 



58 A History of Lake Champlain 

plain, beginning at the mouth of the Riviere aux Loutres 
[Otter Creek] one league and a half above, and one 
league and a half below, making two leagues in front 
by three in depth, together with so much of said Riviere 
aux Loutres as is found therein, with those islands or 
islets which are in front of said concession and depend 
thereon." This grant probably included the present 
towns of Ferrisburgh and Monkton, the city of Vergennes, 
and portions of Panton, Waltham, New Haven, and Bris- 
tol. On July 6, 1734, a grant was made to Sieur de La 
Perriere, one league above and one league below the 
River Ouinouski (Winooski). Captain La Perriere was 
an officer stationed at the castle of Quebec, who be- 
came governor of Montreal in 1752. This seigniory in- 
cluded a part or all of the present city of Burlington. 

The next grant, lying to the north, was made to M. 
Raimbault. There is on record a deed of sale made in 
Montreal, bearing the date of Sept. 27, 1766, by which 
the heirs of M. Pierre Raimbault, "in his lifetime lieu- 
tenant general for His Most Christian Majesty of the 
Jurisdiction of this City [Montreal]" transferred the 
seigniory of La Maunadiere to Benjamin Price, Daniel 
Robertson, and John Livingston. The price agreed up- 
on was 90,000 livres (about $18,000), "current money of 
the province," half of which was to be paid in gold and 
silver, and half in merchandise at the prices then current 
in Montreal. This was one of the first recorded land 
transfers in northern Vermont. The text of this deed 
is published in the manuscripts relating to the French 
claims, in the New York State Papers and the compiler 
has added a marginal note to the effect that Burlington 
is situated on a part of the seigniory pf La Maunadiere. 
This would seem to be an error, however, as the De Lery 



A History of Lake Champlain 59 

map, made in Quebec in October, 1748, by M. Anger, 
the King's surveyor, shows M. Raimbault's grant to 
have extended from a point near the head of Malletts 
Bay, on the south, to a point on the north, apparently 
in the present town of Georgia. The deed of sale states 
that the southern boundary of the Raimbault grant is 
the seigniory granted to La Perriere, which lay a league 
above and a league below the mouth of the Winooski 
River. This would indicate that the southern bound- 
ary of the seigniory of La Maunadiere was several miles 
north of the present line between Burlington and Col- 
chester. A grant to M. Douville seems to have included 
parts of Georgia, St. Albans, Fairfax, and Fairfield; 
while another made to M. de Beauvais Jr., included 
Highgate and parts of Swanton, Franklin, and Sheldon. 
Isle Longue, or North Hero, was granted to M. Contre- 
coeur Sr. 

On April 10, 1733, a grant of "two leagues or two 
and a half in front, by three in depth, along the river 
Chambly and Lake Champlain, together with the river 
Chazy included therein and Isle a la Motte," was made 
to Sieur Pean, major of the town and castle of Quebec 
and member of the superior council of that city. This 
grant included the northern part of the present town of 
Champlain and it was transferred on May 2, 1754, to 
Daniel Lienard, Sieur de Beaujeu, who owned the seig- 
niory immediately north. Both Contrecoeur and Beau- 
jeu were prominent in the operations around Fort Du- 
quesne, and the latter lost his life in the battle which re- 
sulted in General Braddock's defeat and death at the be- 
ginning of the French and Indian War. Grants a little 
to the south of Beaujeu's seigniories were made to Sieur 
St. Vincent, ensign of foot, and to Sieur La Gauchetiere, 



60 A History of Lake Champlain 

a captain of marines. Sieur Roebert, the King's store- 
keeper at Montreal, received a grant of two and one- 
half leagues above the Boquet River, and one league be- 
low. 

It is difficult to give the exact limits of any of these 
grants, as the early maps were far from accurate in 
many particulars, and the boundaries as shown on differ- 
ent maps are not always the same. Most of these grants, 
being unimproved, reverted to the crown by virtue of an 
order issued at Quebec, May 10, 1741, by the governor, 
the Marquis de Beauharnois. As might have been ex- 
pected this order was not accepted everywhere in a spirit 
of meekness. The protests received show more clearly, 
perhaps, than any other records, the fact that under con- 
ditions then existing the attempt to colonize the Cham- 
plain valley with French settlers was a hopeless and a 
thankless task. For example, Sieurs Contrecoeur and La 
Perriere maintained "that it was impossible to find in- 
dividuals willing to accept lands, though they offered 
them some on very advantageous terms, and were will- 
ing to give even 300 livres to engage the said individuals." 
Sieur La Fontaine offered "to give to those whom he will 
find willing to settle there grain and even money, asking 
from them no rent, in order to obtain from them by the 
allurement of this gift what he cannot obtain by force". 
Sieur Roebert wrote that he had "neglected nothing to 
induce some young farmers to go and settle there by pro- 
curing for them great advantages and many facilities." 

It appeared, however, that neither the "great ad- 
vantages" nor the "many facilities" offered by Sieur 
Roebert, not even the "allurements" of Sieur La Fon- 
taine, were sufficiently advantageous and alluring to 
tempt many young farmers to the French grants, and 
thus save to the proprietors their seigniories, which could 



A History of Lake Cham plain 61 

not be retained if they remained unoccupied. It was 
much easier for the King of France "graciously to be- 
stow" these seigniories, than it was for the favorites upon 
whom they were bestowed to persuade settlers to live 
upon them. The Champlain valley had not been a pop- 
ular place for home seekers, long before the white man 
came; and the young farmers, realizing that a pathway 
for war parties was not likely to be a safe home for their 
wives and children, or a comfortable place for them- 
selves, and having a lively desire to keep their scalps on 
their own heads, looked elsewhere for land. Moreover, 
the heart of the French people was not in the work of at- 
tempting to colonize America. Had the rulers of France 
left undone some of the things which they did in Europe, 
and set themselves earnestly to the task of improving and 
colonizing their vast possessions in the New World, then 
the history of America might have been written in a dif- 
ferent manner, and, perhaps, in a different language. 

About the time that the French were making grants 
around Lake Champlain the governor of New York is- 
sued a proclamation, setting forth in an attractive fash- 
ion the beauty and fertility of the region lying between 
the Hudson River and Lake Champlain, and offering lib- 
eral terms to settlers. A copy of this proclamation fell 
into the hands of Capt. Laughlin Campbell, of Scotland, 
who came to America, examined the land advertised, and 
being pleased w T ith the prospect sold his estate, and at his 
own expense brought across the sea eighty-three families 
of Protestant Highlanders, including 423 adults and 
many children. Pursuing a very short-sighted policy, 
the officials of the colony of New York refused to grant 
the 30,000 acres promised unless they were allowed what 
in modern times is called "a rake-off." This the sturdy 



62 A History of Lake Champlain 

Scotch captain resolutely refused to give, and he depart- 
ed, ruined in fortune, while many of the Highlanders en 
listed on an expedition to Carthagena. 

The largest of the early settlements on the lake, in- 
cluding the strongest fortress — Fort St. Frederic — , was 
at Crown Point. The lake here is only about two- 
fifths of a mile wide, and the settlement included the east 
shore, known later as Chimney Point. Probably the best 
description of Fort St. Frederic at an early period is that 
given by Prof. Peter Kalm, a Swedish traveller, who, 
upon his return to Europe, published an account of his 
experiences in America. 

Kalm, after a rather narrow escape from a band of 
Indians, arrived at the fort on July 2, 1749, and was cor- 
dially received by the French commandant, M. Lusig- 
nan. He records the fact that a severe drouth pre- 
vailed, no rain having fallen since spring. As a result the 
grass and small trees had withered, and the corn, wheat, 
and peas had been retarded in their growth. At that 
early date forest fires were numerous every year, and the 
writer attributes them to the carelessness of Indian hunt- 
ers. 

Kalm describes the fort as follows: "Fort St. Fred- 
eric is a fortification on the southern extremity of Lake 
Champlain, situated on a neck of land, between the 
lake and the river which arises from the union 
of the river Wood Creek and Lake St. Sacrement. 
[The writer considers the narrow part of the lake 
south of Crown Point as a river.] The breadth of this 
river is here about a good musket shot. The English call 
this fortress Crown Point, but its French name is derived 
from the French secretary of state, Frederic Maurepas, 
in whose hands the direction and management of the 



A History of Lake Champlain 63 

French court of admiralty was at the time of the erection 
of this fort, *** As most of the places in Canada bear 
the name of saints, custom has made it necessary to pre- 
fix the word Saint to the name of the fortress. 

"The fort is built on a rock, consisting of black lime 
slates as aforesaid; it is nearly quadrangular, has high, 
thick walls, made of the same limestone, of which there is 
a quarry about half a mile from the fort. On the eastern 
part of the fort is a high tower, which is proof against 
bomb shells, provided with very thick and substantial 
walls, and well stored with cannon from the bottom al- 
most to the very top ; and the governor lives in the tower. 
In the terre-plein of the fort is a well built little church, 
and houses of stone for the officers and soldiers. 

"There are sharp rocks on all sides towards the land. 
***The soil about Fort Frederic is said to be very fertile, 
on both sides of the river; and before the last war a good 
many French families, especially old soldiers, have set- 
tled there; but the King obliged them to go into Canada, 
or to settle close to the fort and to lie in it at night. A 
great number of them returned at this time, and it was 
thought that about 40 or 50 families would go to settle 
here this autumn. 

"Within one or two musket shots to the east of the 
fort is a windmill built of stone, with very thick walls, 
and most of the flour which is wanted to supply the fort 
is ground here. This windmill is so contrived as to serve 
the purpose of a redoubt, and at the top of it are five or 
six small pieces of cannon. During the last war there 
was a number of soldiers quartered in this mill, because 
they could from thence look a great way up the river, and 
observe whether the English boats approached, which 
could not be done from the fort itself." The "last war," 



64 A History of Lake Champlain 

refers to such hostilities in America as grew out of the 
fierce War of the Austrian Succession, which deluged 
Europe with blood. 

The writer's description of the life of the soldiers and 
the settlers is a graphic portrayal of conditions as they 
existed. He says: "The soldiers which had been paid off 
after the war had built houses round the fort on the 
grounds allotted to them ; but most of these habitations 
were no more than wretched cottages, no better than 
those in the most wretched places of Sweden; with the 
difference, however, that their inhabitants here w T ere 
rarely oppressed by hunger, and could eat good and pure 
wheat bread. The huts which they had erected con- 
sisted of boards, standing perpendicularly close to 
each other. The roofs were of wood too. The 
crevices were stopped up with clay, to keep the 
room warm. The floor was commonly clay or a 
black limestone, which is common here. The hearth 
was built of the same stone except the place where the 
fire was to ly [lie]; which was made of grey sandstone, 
which for the greatest part consist of particles of quartz. 
***They had no glass in their windows. ***The horses 
are left out of doors during the winter and find their food 
in the woods, living upon nothing but dry plants, which 
are very abundant; however, they do not fall off by this 
food, but look very fine and plump in spring. 

"The soldiers enjoy such advantages here as they 
are not allowed in every part of the world. Those who 
formed the garrison of this place had a very plentiful al- 
lowance from the government. They get every day a 
pound and a half of wheat bread. They likewise get 
pease, bacon, and salt meat in plenty. Sometimes they 
kill oxen and other cattle, the flesh of which is distributed 



A History of Lake Champlain 65 

among the soldiers. All the officers kept cows at the ex- 
pense of the King, and the milk they gave was more 
than sufficient to supply them. The soldiers had each 
a small garden without the fort, which they were allow- 
ed to attend, and plant in it whatever they liked, and 
some of them had built summer houses in them and 
planted all kinds of pot herbs. The governor told me 
that it was a general custom to allow the soldiers a 
spot of ground for kitchen gardens at such of the French 
forts hereabouts as were not situated near great towns, 
from whence they could be supported with greens. In 
time of peace the soldiers had very little trouble with 
being upon guard at the fort; and as the lake close by 
it is full of fish, and the woods abound with birds and 
animals, those amongst them who choose to be diligent 
may live extremely well, and very grand in regard to 
food. 

"Each soldier got a new coat every two years; 
but annually a waistcoat, cap, hat, breeches, cravat, 
two pairs of stockings, two pairs of shoes, and as much 
wood as he had occasion for in winter. They likewise 
got five sols [sous, a coin worth about one cent] apiece 
every day; which is augmented to thirty sols [sous] 
when they have any particular labour for the King. 
When this is considered, it is not surprising to find the 
men are very fresh, well fed, strong, and lively here. 

"When a soldier falls sick he is brought to the hos- 
pital, where the King provides him with a bed, food, 
medicines and people to take care of and serve him. *** 
The soldiers who are sent hither from France commonly 
serve till they are 40 or 50 years old, after which they are 
dismissed and allowed to settle upon and cultivate a 
piece of ground.* * *The King presents each dismissed 



66 A History of Lake Champlain 

soldier with a piece of land being commonly 40 arpents 
long, and but three broad [an arpent is about 2,346 Eng- 
lish feet and 8 inches long], if the soil be of equal good- 
ness throughout, but they get somewhat more of it if it 
be a worse ground. As soon as a soldier settles to cul- 
tivate such a piece of land he is at first assisted by the 
King, who supplies himself, his wife and children with 
provisions during the three or four first years. The 
King likewise gives him a cow, and the most necessary 
instruments for agriculture. Some soldiers are sent to 
assist him in building a house, for which the King pays 
them. * * * The land which was allotted to the sold- 
iers about this place was very good, consisting through- 
out of a deep mould, mixed with clay." 

Kalm tells of the building of three kinds of boats; 
Bark boats; canoes, hollowed out of white fir; and bat- 
eaux, large and flat bottomed for cargoes. He adds, 
"They make plenty of tar and pitch here." 

Kalm and his party left Fort St. Frederic, for the 
north, July 19, on the first sailing yacht built on the lake, 
which, that year, made regular trips from the fort to St. 
Johns, Governor Lusignan giving them ample provisions 
for the journey. The Swedish traveller found the 

country inhabited for a French mile north of the fort, 
but after that the shores were covered with dense forests. 
The owner and captain of the yacht had taken soundings 
of the lake in order to make navigation more safe. 

As Kalm approached the northern end of the lake 
he saw a few houses on the western side, probably at 
Point au Fer, abandoned by the French "before the late 
war," but now occupied again. He says, "These were 
the first houses and settlements which we saw after we 
had left those about Fort St. Frederic." He was 



A History of Lake Champlain 67 

shown on the eastern side of the lake a place overgrown 
with trees where a wooden fort formerly stood, near the 
water's edge, built to prevent Indian incursions, and was 
told that "many Frenchmen had been slain in these 
places." Kalm also saw a windmill of stone on the east 
side of the lake on a point of land, evidently in the pres- 
ent town of Alburgh, on what is known as Windmill 
Point. Some Frenchmen had lived near it, but had left 
when war broke out, and had not returned. He was in- 
formed that houses here had been burned several times 
by the English and their Indian allies. 

After passing Windmill Point, and entering the 
Richelieu, Kalm says: "We saw at first a few scattered 
cottages along the shore; but a little further the country 
is inhabited without interruption." At St. Johns he 
found a wooden fort, built in 1748 to protect the sur- 
rounding country, and to serve as a magazine for pro- 
visions and ammunition sent to Fort St. Frederic. 
In 1748, 200 men had been stationed here, but at this 
time the garrison consisted of the governor, Chevalier de 
Gannes, brother-in-law of M. Lusignan, governor of 
Fort St. Frederic; also a commissary, a baker, and six 
soldiers. 

It is said that as early as 1730 the French construct- 
ed a small fort at Chimney Point, opposite Fort St. Fred- 
eric. Hon. John Strong, writing of this settlement in an 
article on the town of Addison, for Hemenway's Ver- 
mont Gazetteer, says : "Within the enclosure was a neat 
church, and throughout the settlement well cultivated 
gardens, with some good fruit, as apples, plums, currants, 
etc. These settlements extended north on the lake some 
four miles, the remnants of old cellars and gardens, still 
to be seen, show a more thickly settled street than occu- 



68 A History of Lake Champlain 

pies it now [about 1850]." While the cultivated area in 
this vicinity may have been extended considerably be- 
tween Kalm's visit and the English conquest, account- 
ing for the discrepancy of settlements that extended one 
mile and those that extended four miles, it is hardly prob- 
able that there was a fort at Chimney Point large enough 
to contain a church. It is more likely that the church 
referred to was the chapel at Fort St. Frederic. 

Maj. Robert Rogers, the famous scout, undoubtedly 
refers to the Chimney Point settlement when he writes in 
his journal, under date of May 5, 1756, of an expedition 
made by a detachment under his command to a village 
on the east side of the lake, about two miles from Crown 
Point, where he found no inhabitants. Evidently, 
with the outbreak of active warfare, the Chimney 
Point settlement was abandoned. A little earlier in this 
same year, on Feb. 29, Rogers makes an entry in his 
journal telling of farms in the vicinity of Crown Point, 
stocked with cattle, and several barns filled with grain, 
which, together with some houses, he burned. Again, 
under date of Aug. 29, 1756, Rogers writes of the cap- 
ture of a Frenchman with his wife and daughters, the 
man saying that "there were only three hundred men at 
Crown Point, and these chiefly the inhabitants of the ad- 
jacent villages." 

These settlements, the most important established 
by the French in this valley, were wholly dependent on 
the military post, and they vanished as soon as the sol- 
diers of France withdrew from Lake Champlain. 



A History of Lake Champlain 69 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE STRUGGLE FOR A CONTINENT. 

The conflict known in Europe as the Seven Years 
War, but in America as the French and Indian War, 
was made notable in the Old World by the powerful na- 
tions involved, and the important issues at stake. The 
result of the struggle meant even more to the New World 
than to Europe, however, for here the development of a 
continent depended in no small measure upon the for- 
tunes of war. John Richard Green, the English his- 
torian, says of this war, which followed the alliance be- 
tween Great Britain and Prussia: "No war has had 
greater results in the history of the world, or brought 
greater triumphs to England, but few have had more 
disastrous beginnings." France apparently was suc- 
ceeding in the establishment of an empire in India, and 
in preventing the British power in America from expand- 
ing farther to the west than the Alleghany Mountains. 
The prestige of France never seemed greater, while the 
fortunes of Britain appeared to be waning. The armies 
of England had suffered serious reverses on the conti- 
nent. At the head of the government was the incom- 
petent Duke of Newcastle. Troops available for Amer- 
ican warfare were few. 

In any plan of campaign for the new provinces 
across the Atlantic the Champlain valley was sure to be 
counted as one of the great strategic points. For years 
this region had been a bone of contention between the 
foreign offices of France and Great Britain. The Treaty 



70 A History of Lake Champlain 

of Utrecht, signed in 1713, declared that the Iroquois 
were subject to British dominion, but the French diplo- 
mats maintained that dominion simply meant control 
over the Indians themselves, and not over their lands. 
The occupation of Crown Point by the French and the 
building of Fort St. Frederic were regarded by Great 
Britain as gross violations of the terms of the Treaty of 
Utrecht. The British claimed authority, not only over 
the Champlain valley, but over all the lands west of the 
Ottawa River and the Alleghany Mountains, as far as the 
Mississippi, the ''Father of Waters." 

The arbitrament of war had followed diplomatic 
contests and finally the fighting ceased for a time with 
the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748 — 
"a mere truce forced on the contending powers by sheer 
exhaustion," says Green. The terms provided that af- 
fairs were to remain unchanged until a commission to be 
appointed should adjust the boundaries between the 
French and the British possessions. 

Notwithstanding the terms of this solemn agree- 
ment both nations soon began attempts to seize and to 
hold the fertile valley of the Ohio. In the spring of 1753 
M. Duquesne, governor of Canada, sent a French force 
to occupy the Ohio valley, and Fort Le Boeuf was built 
on French Creek. Late in this same year of 1753 a 
young Virginian, adjutant general of the colonial militia, 
named George Washington, made his first appearance as 
an active figure in American history. Appointed as a 
messenger for Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, he under- 
took a perilous journey to the French post, warning the 
commander that he was encroaching on British territory. 
Early in 1754 some Virginians began the construction of 
a fort at the forks of the Ohio, but were driven off by a 



A History of Lake Champlain 7 1 

French force under M. Contrecoeur, who commenced 
the building of Fort Duquesne, which was completed in 
May, 1755. 

The French now held three strong and strategic po- 
sitions: Fort Niagara, commanding the St. Lawrence 
route; Fort St. Frederic, guarding Lake Champlain, the 
natural highway from Canada to New England and the 
Hudson region; and Fort Duquesne, on the present site 
of Pittsburgh, where the Allegheny and the Mononga- 
hela unite to form the Ohio, leading into the heart 
of the Mississippi valley. The control of these 
posts, to quote Green again, "threatened to cut off the 
English colonies from any possibility of extension over 
the prairies of the West." 

The year 1755 saw the arrival of a French army at 
Quebec under the veteran soldier, Baron Dieskau, with 
Marquis Vaudreuil as governor of Canada to succeed 
Duquesne; also a British force in Virginia under General 
Braddock. 

Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock had been chosen by 
the Duke of Cumberland as commander of the American 
expedition. The son of a major general, he had received 
his military training in the Coldstream Guards, counted 
as the very flower of the British army. Arriving in Feb- 
ruary with two regiments, Braddock soon called a con- 
ference of all the governors of the English colonies to 
meet at Alexandria, Va. This meeting was held on April 
14, and plans were laid to check the French encroach- 
ments and, if possible, to drive them from the continent. 
With this end in view, it was decided that General Brad- 
dock should capture Fort Duquesne; that Governor 
Shirley, of Massachusetts, who had held a position of 
leadership in colonial affairs, should undertake the re- 



72 A History of Lake Champlain 

duction of Fort Niagara; and that an army of provincial 
troops under William Johnson should attack Crown 
Point. 

Fort Duquesne was occupied by a few companies of 
French regulars, some Canadian troops, and about 800 
Indians, all being under command of M. Contrecoeur. 
The roll of Braddock's officers contained names des- 
tined at a later period to become famous in American 
history. George Washington was on his staff. CoL 
Thomas Gage, who commanded the British troops at the 
outbreak of the American Revolution, led the advance. 
Horatio Gates was in the service. 

On the approach of Braddock, de Beaujeu had been 
sent out with 600 Indians and 300 French troops to 
form an ambush. Into this ambush the British troops 
marched, with disastrous results, although the French 
victory was purchased at the cost of de Beaujeu's life. 
Colonel Gage was wounded. Governor Shirley's son 
was killed. Braddock was fatally wounded and died 
soon after, his body being buried in the road that the 
marching of his retreating soldiers might hide all traces 
of his grave. The papers of the British commander 
were captured, thus revealing his plan of campaign. 
An attempt was made to keep the news of this disaster 
from the provincial troops at Albany. 

Governor Shirley, who became commander-in-chief 
upon the death of Braddock, pushed on, through swamp 
and forest, toward Niagara, building forts on the way. 
His men, however, became discouraged. There was a 
lack of boats with which to cross Lake Ontario, and the 
campaign was abandoned. Men were left to strengthen 
the forts constructed, but Shirley returned to Albany. 

Thus two of the three military expeditions planned 
by the council of governors had failed, one disastrously. 



A History of Lake Champlain 73 

Early in the year 1755, before Braddock had reached 
America, Governor Shirley had laid plans for an attack 
on Crown Point and had selected William Johnson for 
commander of the expedition. This appointment was 
confirmed at the conference of governors at Alexandria, 
in April. 

Johnson was an Irishman who had been sent to 
America some twenty years before this time by his uncle, 
Sir Peter Warren, to look after lands in the Mohawk 
valley owned by the Admiral. He had won the confi- 
dence of the Iroquois and had been made Indian super- 
intendent by the British authorities. The appointment 
was an extraordinary one. A man without actual ex- 
perience in warfare, never having been in the military 
service, was designated to lead an army in an effort to 
capture an important post. 

Following Johnson's appointment as commander he 
called a great Indian council at his stone castle on the 
Mohawk, and more than 1,100 savages accepted his invi- 
tation. After an abundant feast a formal agreement was 
made to aid the British in the impending conflict. It is 
said, however, that out of all who partook of Johnson's 
bounty, only about 300 Indians actually rendered mili- 
tary service. 

In July a large number of provincial troops and 
some Indians assembled at Albany, and later advanced 
to the portage from the Hudson river to Lake George, 
near the present site of the village of Fort Edward. The 
greater part of the troops came from New England, and 
here Gen. Phineas Lyman, of Connecticut, second in 
command, began the construction of a work of defence 
which he called Fort Lyman, after himself. 

Military discipline was not of the strictest sort. 
The organization was weak and progress was slow. 



74 A History of Lake Champlain 

Five legislatures controlled the troops and voted the 
supplies. There was jealousy and dissension. The ill 
feeling between General Johnson and Governor Shirley 
added to the existing complications. 

The New Hampshire forces had crossed the region 
now known as Vermont, John Stark being a lieutenant in 
the colonial service. Ephraim Williams, founder of 
Williams College, was a Massachusetts colonel. Tim- 
othy Ruggles afterward president of the Stamp Act Con- 
gress, commanded another Massachusetts regiment, 
and Israel Putnam was a private in the Connecticut 
troops. 

Late in August a council of war voted to call on the 
colonies for reinforcements. On Aug. 26, 2,000 men 
were ordered to Lake George, as that body of water was 
soon to be called, fourteen miles distant, while 500 men 
remained to complete Fort Lyman and garrison it. 

The French troops were commanded by General Dies- 
kau, who had won distinction in the European wars as 
the adjutant of the famous Marshal Saxe. It had been 
planned that Dieskau should go to Oswego, on Lake On- 
tario, but owing to the British activity in the vicinity of 
Lake Champlain he was ordered to proceed to Crown 
Point. Before his arrival at Fort Frederic the French 
force at that post had consisted of about 800 soldiers and 
some Indians. Dieskau now had 3,573 men, including 
the battalions of La Reine and Languedoc, detach- 
ments of the troops of the Marine, artillerymen and 
bombardiers, 1,412 Canadian troops, and about 600 In- 
dians from various tribes. Bancroft says that the 
French had "called every able-bodied man in the dis- 
trict of Montreal into active service for the defence of 
Crown Point, so that reapers had to be sent up from 
Three Rivers and Quebec to gather in the harvest." 



A History of Lake Champlain. 75 

The French commander did not wait at Fort Fred- 
eric to be attacked. That fortification had begun to de- 
cay and no longer was formidable. Leaving a strong 
detachment there, and another at Carillon, or Ticon- 
deroga, Dieskau pushed on to the south toward the 
enemy. On Sept. 4 an English prisoner was taken, and 
being threatened with torture he risked telling the 
French general a deliberate falsehood, to the effect that 
Johnson had retreated to Albany, leaving only 500 men 
at Fort Lyman. Immediately Dieskau embarked in 
canoes with a force of about 1,500 men, 216 regulars, 684 
Canadians, and not far from 600 Indians under the com- 
mand of Chevalier de Saint-Pierre, a force far greater in 
numbers than in actual strength. Arriving at South 
Bay, at the southern extremity of Lake Champlain, the 
French army started through the forest toward Fort Ly- 
man. Johnson commanded the larger force, having 2,200 
effective men, and 300 Indians. His main army had ar- 
rived on Sept. 3 at Lake St. Sacrement, a name given to 
that beautiful body of water more than a century before 
this time by the pious Jesuit missionary and martyr, 
Father Isaac Jogues, who had reached its shores on the 
eve of the blessed feast of Pentecost. The British 
commander now decreed that the lake should be called 
Lake George, "not only in honor of His Majesty, but to 
ascertain his undoubted dominion." 

Johnson was notified by an Indian scout of the ap- 
proach of the French army on the morning of Sept. 8. It 
had been planned to send 500 men toward Fort Lyman 
and the same number toward South Bay, but with the ap- 
proach of Dieskau, plans were hastily changed. About 
9 o'clock in the morning Colonel Williams at the head 
of his regiment, and 200 Indians, led by Hendrick, a fa- 



76 A History of Lake Champlain. 

mous Mohawk chieftan, now so old and feeble that it 
was necessary to place him on horseback, advanced to 
meet the foe. 

Dieskau had captured a messenger to Fort Lyman 
and learned that that post was garrisoned by a consider- 
able force and defended by twelve cannon. Thereupon 
the Indians had declared their unwillingness to attack a 
fort so well defended by artillery, and it was decided to 
turn back toward Lake Champlain. Scouts soon came 
in with the news of the approach of Williams' detach- 
ment, and an ambush was formed in a narrow and rocky 
defile, about three miles from Johnson's camp. 

Into this trap Williams marched without suspicion 
of danger. Suddenly a galling fire was opened from the 
front and on both flanks. Colonel Williams was shot 
through the brain and died instantly. The aged chief- 
tain Hendrick was killed by a bayonet thrust. For a 
short time a panic prevailed among the British troops, 
but Lieut. Col. Nathan Whiting, of the Connecticut 
militia, rallied the shattered forces and skilfully extri- 
cated them from their perilous position. 

Had Dieskau been able immediately to follow up his 
advantage it is highly probable that he would have won 
a notable victory. He had with him only a few French 
regulars, and the Canadian troops were of little service 
in such a crisis, many of them pleading fatigue. The In- 
dian allies became unmanageable. Their commander, 
Saint-Pierre, had been killed, and no other French officer 
was able to control the savages. It is said that not more 
than a third of Dieskau's small army actually took part 
in the attack upon Johnson's position. 

The British commander had allowed the pleasant 
summer days to pass, while his men idled the time away, 



A History of Lake Champlain. 77 

and now, in his hour of need, he had no entrenchments. 
When the noise of firing was heard, as Williams was at- 
tacked, a hasty barricade was formed of wagons and 
bateaux turned upside down, upon which trees were 
felled, making a rude abatis. A few pieces of cannon 
were brought up from the shore of Lake George, and 
500 men were detached to guard the flanks of this posi- 
tion, which were protected on either side by swamps that 
could not be passed. Lieutenant Colonel Cole had been 
sent forward to meet the fugitives and aided in check- 
ing the French advance. 

Shortly before noon Dieskau's regulars advanced, 
firing by platoons. When the British opened with their 
artillery the Indians and Canadian allies fled to the shel- 
ter of the forest, leaving the regulars to wage the contest 
alone. While the battle was at its height part of the 
Canadians and Indians returned to the scene of the am- 
bush to strip the dead. There, near Bloody Pond, as it 
was called in later years, they were attacked and driven 
from the field by a British scouting party from Fort 
Lyman. 

Meanwhile Dieskau and his few faithful regulars 
had made a desperate attack upon the British centre, 
without success. An attempt was made upon the left, 
in which Colonel Titcomb, of the provincial army was 
killed, but the assault was repulsed. Early in the ac- 
tion General Johnson received a flesh wound in the 
thigh and retired to his tent, the command devolving 
upon General Lyman, who conducted the defence with 
good judgment. 

About 4 o'clock in the afternoon the colonial sol- 
diers leaped over their defences, and charged the French 
troops, who broke and fled. Dieskau was shot in the 



78 A History of Lake Cham plain. 

leg, and while his wound was being dressed he was shot 
again in the knee and the thigh. He seated himself be- 
hind a tree and ordered his adjutants to lead the regu- 
lars in a last charge, but the advance of the victorious 
New Englanders could not be checked. The French 
commander soon was shot a third time, across the hips, 
and, desperately wounded, was taken to the tent of Gen- 
eral Johnson, a prisoner, where his wounds were dressed. 
The Mohawks, enraged at the death of Hendrick, sought 
to kill Dieskau, but he was protected by his captors. 

Near nightfall, as a party of 300 French soldiers, 
which had rallied, were retreating in an orderly manner, 
about two miles from Lake George, they were at- 
tacked by about 200 New Hampshire men, led by an of- 
ficer named Macginnes, who was marching from Fort 
Lyman. Macginnes was killed, but the French fled in 
confusion, abandoning their baggage. 

Authorities differ regarding the losses. Parkman 
says the colonial troops lost 262 in killed, wounded and 
missing, and the French 228. Bancroft says the Amer- 
icans lost 216 killed and 96 wounded, the French loss be- 
ing not much greater. Among the French officers killed 
perhaps the most famous were Chevalier de Saint-Pierre, 
leader of the Indian allies. He was in command at Fort 
Le Boeuf, in the Ohio valley, in 1753, when George Wash- 
ington was sent out by Governor Dinwiddie to challenge 
the French occupation of that region. In writing of the 
French and Indian War, John Fiske says that the inter- 
view between Saint-Pierre and Washington "was the 
opening scene of this great drama." 

As soon as Dieskau was able he was removed to Al- 
bany, and thence to New York. Later he was taken to 
England, and after being kept there for a time was sent 



A History of Lake Champlain. 79 

to France. He never recovered entirely from the effect 
of his wounds, and died a few years after returning to his 
native land. 

The French retreated as far as Ticonderoga, M. de 
Montreuil, assuming command, and there they pro- 
ceeded to fortify themselves. General Lyman desired to 
follow the success already won by an attack upon the 
French camp, and had his advice been followed immedi- 
ately after the battle at Lake George, it is probable that 
the result would have been disastrous for the scattered 
regiments which Dieskau had led into battle. Governor 
Shirleyaho urged an attack upon Ticonderoga, but John- 
son declined to- accept these suggestions, and two 
weeks after their defeat the French had entrenched 
themselves so strongly in their new position that the 
capture of their works would have been a difficult task. 
Johnson spent the remainder of the season in building 
Fort William Henry at the head of Lake George. It 
consisted of wooden barracks surrounded by an embank- 
ment and a moat, and was located on an elevation near 
the site of the temporary fortification attacked by Dies- 
kau. On Nov. 27 Johnson went into winter quarters, 
leaving 600 men as a garrison, having dismissed the New 
England militia. 

Johnson appears to have been jealous of his second 
in command. He changed the name of Fort Lyman to 
Fort Edward, and in his official report of the battle he 
did not mention the name of the man who actually won 
the victory. Johnson was made a baronet, was voted 
five thousand pounds by Parliament, and was granted 
by the bounty of the King 110,000 acres on the north 
bank of the Mohawk. Lyman received nothing. 

Although fighting had been in progress for nearly a 



80 A History of Lake Champlain. 

year, war was not formally declared between Great Brit- 
ain and France until early in the summer of 1756. 

Marquis de Montcalm, a talented officer, then 
about 44 years old, had been sent out to succeed Dies- 
kau. With him came the Chevaliers de Levis and de 
Bourlamaque, as second and third in command, respect- 
ively, Bougainville being principal aide-de-camp. The 
French now held Forts Carillon, Frontenac, and Niagara. 

Governor Vaudreuil sent an eminent engineer, M. 
de Lotbiniere, to Ticonderoga to examine the place as a 
possible site for a fort. He reported that it was "one of 
the best adapted for the construction of works capable of 
checking the enemy; that the suitable place for a fortifi- 
cation is a rock which crowns all the environs, whence 
guns could command both the river which runs from 
Lake St. Sacrement and that leading to the Grand Ma- 
rais [Twelve Mile Marsh] and Wood Creek." 

Fort Carillon was laid out by Lotbiniere in 1755 
and was completed in 1756, about 2,000 men being 
employed in its construction. Lake Champlain present- 
ed a busy scene during this period, the traffic between 
Fort Carillon and St. Johns being very large in the trans- 
portation of building materials, supplies, ammunition, 
and troops. 

The fort was constructed of pieces of timber in lay- 
ers bound together with traverses and the interstices were 
filled with earth. This construction was considered 
proof against cannon, as good as masonry, and much 
better than earthworks, but not so durable. Montcalm 
expressed the wish that the fort had been large enough 
for 500 men, "whereas," said he, "it can accommodate 
at most, only 300.'' 

No regular campaign was conducted in the Cham- 



A History of Lake Champlain 81 

plain valley in 1756, but there were frequent forays by 
both French and British scouting parties. Robert Rog- 
ers, with John Stark, Israel Putnam, and other able lieu- 
tenants, harassed the French posts. One of the colonial 
scouting expeditions having captured a few Frenchmen 
at the mouth of Otter Creek, a French detachment was 
sent there to reconnoitre that region, "to examine 
whether the English were not designing to form some 
settlements there." 

As it appeared in June that the British were pre- 
paring for an aggressive movement in the vicinity of 
Lake George, Montcalm proposed a diversion toward 
Lake Ontario. Later in the summer, with a force of 
about 3,000 men, he attacked and captured Fort Oswego. 

Governor Shirley had appointed Gen. John Wins- 
low to command the forces on Lake Champlain, largely 
raised in the New England colonies. A fleet of sloops 
and whaleboats was constructed on Lake George, and a 
party of New England whalemen and boatmen was or- 
ganized under Lieut. Col. John Bradstreet for transport- 
tion service. The Earl of Loudoun had been sent out 
from England as commander-in-chief in America, but it 
was late in the summer of 1756 before he arrived, and the 
proposed attack upon Ticonderoga and Crown Point was 
abandoned, the provincial troops being disbanded. Lou- 
doun was neither aggressive nor tactful. He quarreled 
with the citizens of New York and finally compelled 
them to provide quarters for his officers. Early in 
1757 he was recalled by Pitt. The conduct of 
affairs on this side of the Atlantic was not viewed with 
satisfaction in England, and Pitt wrote, "I dread to hear 
from America." 

On March 19, 1757, a party of regulars, Canadians, 



82 A History of Lake Champlain 

and Indians, reinforced by troops from Fort Carillon, all 
under the command of Rigaud, a brother of Governor 
Vaudreuil, went up Lake George by night and attacked 
Fort William Henry, which was held by a garrison of 346 
effective men under the command of Major Eyre. Fail- 
ing to capture the fort they burned two sloops, frozen in 
the ice, and some bateaux. The next day the French 
commander demanded that the British surrender, but 
Major Eyre declined to obey the summons. Rigaud 
then made a feint of preparing to storm the fort, in order, 
it is claimed, to approach the storehouse, sawmill, and 
other buildings outside the entrenchments, which he set 
on fire, and then retired. A considerable number of 
Rigaud's party returned to Canada, travelling on snow 
shoes. Many were so blinded by the snow that it was 
necessary to lead them by the hand. 

For an expedition that cost 1,000,000 francs (about 
$200,000) this could hardly be called a profitable foray. 
Montcalm would have preferred de Levis or Bougain- 
ville as leader, rather than Rigaud, but family influence 
prevailed, and the King of France paid the cost of this 
favoritism, as in so many other instances under Vau- 
dreuil's rule. 

In the spring of this year, 1757, General Loudoun 
planned an expedition against Louisbourg, the strong 
Cape Breton fortress, which was destined to end in- 
gloriously. For this purpose he withdrew a consider- 
able portion of the forces on the northern frontier, leav- 
ing General Webb, an officer of timid and irresolute 
character, in command of the troops in the vicinity of 
Lakes George and Champlain. 

Webb had about 4,000 men, mostly colonial militia, 
at Fort Edward, while Fort William Henry, fourteen 



A History of Lake Champlain 83 

miles away, the most advanced British post, was held by 
a force of 2,372 officers and men under Lieutenant Col- 
onel Monro. 

Montcalm was not slow to take advantage of the op- 
portunity afforded by Loudoun's withdrawal of troops and 
he prepared to strike a blow at Fort William Henry. 
With an energy in marked contrast to the inactivity of 
generals like Johnson, Webb, and Loudoun, he aroused 
the Indian tribes throughout the length and breadth of 
Canada. After chanting the war song with the savages at 
Sault St. Louis, at the Lake of the Two Mountains, and 
frequently at Montreal, he gathered the tribes to his 
standard from Acadia to Lake Superior; and left Can- 
ada July 12. Six days later Montcalm arrived at Fort 
Carillon. 

Skirmishing went on actively. On the morning of 
July 24 the Abenakis brought in thirty British prisoners. 
Qn July 26 a party of French, after lying in ambush a day 
and a night, surprised a detachment of their enemies un- 
der Colonel Parker, sent out from Fort William Henry to 
attack Fort Carillon. All but two of Parker's twenty- 
two barges were captured or sunk, 160 prisoners, includ- 
ing five officers, were taken, and approximately 160 men 
were killed or drowned. 

Lieutenant Marin, with 150 or 200 French colonial 
troops, on July 27 made a demonstration against Fort 
Edward, with "rare audacity," according to Mont- 
calm's report, and returned with thirty scalps, the French 
losses being slight. 

A solemn council was held with the Indians on the 
plain near the portage to Lake George. Montcalm pro- 
duced the great war belt of six thousand shells, which was 
accepted, and the savages pledged themselves to remain 
until the expedition was ended. 



84 A History of Lake Champlain 

At the close of the month of July, after several weeks 
of preparation, working day and night, Montcalm and 
de Levis were ready for the attack. Their force con- 
sisted of 8,021 men, including 1,806 Indians. Exclusive 
of the garrisons of Forts Carillon and Frederic, the sick, 
his savage allies, etc., the French force consisted of about 
5,500 effective men. There were in the ranks the bat- 
talions of La Reine and Languedoc, La Sarre and Gui- 
enne, Bearne and Royal Roussilon. 

The Indians set out for Fort William Henry on the 
last day of July. Montcalm followed, Aug. 1 with the 
main body of the French army in 250 canoes. Rowing 
nearly all night in a fierce storm of rain, they entered 
Northwest Bay. On the morning of Aug. 2 the French 
army disembarked without opposition. De Levis, with 
2,500 men, guided by the savages, proceeded south on 
the western shore of the lake. La Corne cut the com- 
munications to Fort Edward, and regular siege opera- 
tions were begun. Trenches were dug and batteries 
were planted. Gradually the French approached nearer 
and nearer, and the Indians uttered cries of joy as the 
shot and shell fell within the walls of William Henry. 

Meanwhile General Webb, at Fort Edward, with 
a goodly number of troops, made no attempt to relieve 
the beleaguered fortress, but called loudly for reinforce- 
ments. 

When Montcalm had approached close to the fort he 
demanded that the garrison surrender, but Monro re- 
fused. At 3 o'clock on the afternoon of Aug. 7, the Brit- 
ish made a sortie, attempting to secure the road to Fort 
Edward, but de Villiers, with a party of French and In- 
dians, drove them back with a loss of fifty killed and 
eighty prisoners. On Aug. 8 the fort was closely in- 



A History of Lake Champlain. 85 

vested. All the large cannon used for defence were now 
disabled, more than 300 of the garrison had been killed or 
wounded, and smallpox had broken out in the ranks. 

Montcalm now had his opponents at his mercy. He 
was ready to open fire with thirty-one cannon and fifteen 
howitzers, which commanded the works. To add to the 
discomfiture of the British, Montcalm sent into the fort 
a letter written by General Webb, and intercepted by the 
French, advising Monro to make the best terms possible. 
The stout hearted commander had counted steadfastly 
on receiving aid from Fort Edward, and his last hope 
was gone. 

At 7 o'clock on the morning of Aug. 9, a white flag 
was raised on the ramparts, and a capitulation was 
agreed upon. The terms provided that Monro and his 
brave men should march out with the honors of war, re- 
taining their side arms, baggage, and one cannon, "out of 
respect to the gallant defence that they had made;" that 
they should not serve against the King of France for 
eighteen months; that within four months they should 
send to Fort Carillon all the prisoners they had taken 
from the French and their allies in the country of North 
America during the war; and that they should leave in 
the ramparts all the artillery, ammunition, provisions, 
and other effects there. 

At noon the French took possession and found 36 
pieces of ordnance, 2,500 shot, 545 shells, 36,000 pounds 
of powder, 350,000 rations, including 3,000 barrels of 
flour and pork. The spoils of war included two sloops in 
the harbor, two in the stocks, four large flat bateaux, and 
eight barges. 

The British admitted a loss of 200. The French 
claimed that their casualties were thirteen killed and 
forty wounded. 



86 A History of Lake Champlain. 

It was agreed that the British prisoners should be 
escorted to Fort Edward, as the French did not have pro- 
visions sufficient for a captured army. Montcalm sum- 
moned the Indian chiefs, explained the articles of capitu- 
lation, and they appeared to give consent to the terms. 
On the morning of Aug. 10 the prisoners set out from the 
fort with a guard of regulars. They had gone but a little 
distance, however, when the war whoop was raised, and 
the savages fell upon the defenceless captives. A scene 
of panic, pillage and slaughter followed, men, women and 
children being slain. Montcalm, de Levis, and other 
French officers rushed to the rescue, imperiling their 
lives, but to little purpose. "Kill me," implored the 
French commander, but spare the English, who are 
under my protection," but threats and prayers alike fell 
upon deaf ears. Four hundred or more were rescued and 
taken back to camp. On Aug. 15 Montcalm sent them 
to Fort Edward under a strong guard, "after having 
showered civilities upon them," as a contemporary record 
says. Not more than 600 men in a body reached Fort 
Edward immediately following the massacre, but many 
stragglers came pouring in. 

According to de Levis fifty of the prisoners were 
killed in this slaughter in addition to the sick and wound- 
ed slain. Montcalm charged that the Indian outrage 
was due to rum which the British gave the savages. In 
anyevent this horrible episode is a blot on the record of a 
brave and distinguished officer of France, and its story 
forms a bloody page in the history of both the Champlain 
valley and North America. 

No attack was attempted upon Fort Edward, where 
several thousand men occupied an intrenched camp. 
Provisions were scarce, and horses were needed to trans- 



A History of Lake Cham plain 87 

port artillery, and Montcalm's force was considered too 
small for such an enterprise, 

On the night of Aug. 15 a thousand men loaded 
the spoils of the campaign into boats, while twelve 
hundred of their companions demolished Fort William 
Henry. The ruined barracks were set on fire and upon 
the blazing embers of this wooden fortress were thrown 
the bodies of the slain, forming a weird funeral pyre of 
gigantic proportions, and illuminating for miles the for- 
est clad shores of this lovely lake. 

The victorious army then returned to Fort Carillon, 
and on Aug. 29 Montcalm left for Montreal, whither de 
Bougainville had preceded him with the tidings of 
success. 

In October, 1757, Fort Carillon was not considered 
finished, and most of the batteries were said to be tem- 
porary rather than permanent. M. d'Hugues, writing, 
May 1, 1758, to Marshal de Belle Isle, said that the fort 
should be enlarged and strengthened; and that Fort 
Frederic could not stand with Carillon taken, as "four 
cannon shot would tumble it into ruins." 

M. de Pont le Roy, engineer-in-chief, writing of 
Fort Carillon about this time, described the fort as be- 
ing built on a rock, an irregular square, the longer sides 
of an irregular polygon measuring 324 feet, and the short- 
er sides, 174 feet. Its revetment consisted of square 
pieces of oak, laid one on the other, bound bytraversines, 
and its periphery was pierced by embrasures lined with 
oak timber. The ramparts were thirteen or fourteen feet 
wide. The bastions were casemated and served for bak- 
ery, cistern, powder magazine, and provisions. The roof 
consisted of beams laid side by side covered with four or 
five feet of earth. The buildings for civilians were of 
stone, and two stories in height. 



88 A History of Lake Champlain 

During the winter of 1757-58 Captain Heben- 
court of the La Reine regiment commanded at Carillon, 
and while he was stationed there a British force appeared 
before the fort several times, but accomplished nothing. 
A party of Indians, 200 strong, having just arrived at the 
fort, were sent against the famous colonial ranger, Maj. 
Robert Rogers, and returned March 13 with 146 scalps 
and a few prisoners, "merely to furnish their father with 
live letters," so the old record runs. Rogers was cap- 
tured, but escaped with fifteen men and two officers, 
nearly naked, the partisan chief leaving his coat, in a 
pocket of which was his commission in the British army. 



A History of Lake Champlain 89 



CHAPTER V. 

THE FRENCH ABANDON THE LAKE. 

The year 1757 is notable in English historybecause 
it brought to the direction of the affairs of the kingdom 
one of the greatest of the many famous statesmen who 
have made Great Britain a mighty power in the world, 
this man being William Pitt. With the determination 
to win victory, and to drive France from the American 
continent, he entered upon his arduous task with vigor 
and enthusiasm. His firmness was felt at once. Jef- 
frey Amherst, who had served with credit in the German 
wars, was ordered to take Louisbourg, which he cap- 
tured July 26, 1758. James Abercrombie, a friend of 
Lord Bute, was assigned to the command of the expedi- 
tion against Crown Point. To John Forbes was as- 
signed the task of taking Fort Duquesne, and wiping out 
the disgrace of Braddock's disaster. Upon the ap- 
proach of the British the fort was blown up and the 
French forces fled. The fame of Pitt was perpetuated 
by changing the name of Fort Duquesne to Pittsburgh. 

In June, 1758, General Abercrombie gathered at 
the head of Lake George an army that according to 
Bancroft, was "the largest body of European origin that 
had ever been assembled in America." British author- 
ities say that it consisted of 6,367 regulars, and 9,024 
colonial troops, chiefly from New England, New York, 
and New Jersey; although the French claimed that their 
opponents had between 20,000 and 25,000 men. Al- 



90 A History of Lake Champlain 

though Abercrombie was the commander, it is said that 
Pitt depended upon Lord George Augustus Howe, a 
grandson of King George I, as the guiding spirit of the 
expedition. 

Montcalm arrived at Fort Carillon on June 30. 
According to his report the French force consisted of 
2,970 regulars, 37 men of the Marine, 35 Canadians, and 
16 Indians. This force was augmented later, approxi- 
mately to 3,600 fighting men, hardly one-fourth as large 
as the British army. The greater part of the troops were 
stationed on the peninsula, near Fort Carillon. 

On July 5 Abercrombie broke camp at Lake George 
and formally began his campaign for the capture of Ti- 
conderoga, supremely confident of success. The advan- 
tages of war, which had been heavily against the British 
in the previous campaign, appeared at this time to be 
strongly in their favor. The troops were embarked in 
900 bateaux and 138 whaleboats, a large number of flat 
boats being provided for the artillery. The army was 
formed in three divisions. Rogers' Rangers and Gage's 
light infantry led the way. Among the regulars were the 
Royal Americans and the Scotch Highlanders. This 
great flotilla was six miles long, and, as it proceeded 
northward, with flags flying, to the stirring music of mar- 
tial airs, the words of the author of Solomon's Song, 
"terrible as an army with banners," might w T ell have 
come to the minds of the anxious French scouts on the 
distant hills, watching the approach of this formidable 
expedition. This was the poetry and romance of war- 
fare, far removed from the hardships and the carnage 
of actual battle. 

On the morning of July 6 the army was disem- 
barked at the north end of Lake George and formed in 



A History of Lake Champlain 91 

four columns, entrenchments having been thrown up to 
protect the bateaux. 

Meanwhile, Montcalm had not been idle. His first 
impulse had been to withdraw to Fort Frederic, but a 
council of officers advised against such a step. Having 
determined to make a stand at Fort Carillon, he set 
about its defence with characteristic energy. The posi- 
tion naturally was a strong one. The lake guarded the 
eastern approach. A bay on the south and southwest 
protected another part of the works. Submerged mead- 
ows on the north made an attack from that quarter im- 
possible. The only opportunity for an approach by 
land was from the northwest. 

On the high ground before the fort a breastwork of 
logs and earth nine feet in height, twenty feet thick at 
the base and ten at the top was constructed, guarded by a 
deep trench. In front of this trees were cut down so 
that their branches interlocked, and these were sharp- 
ened so that this abatis formed an impenetrable thicket 
of boughs. Three regiments under de Bourlamaque 
occupied the log camp near the foot of Lake George. 
La Barre's detachment held a post at the sawmills, two 
miles from Fort Carillon. A body of 350 or 400 men 
from the Bearne regiment, under Captain de Trepezec, 
had been sent to occupy a post between Bald Mountain 
and Lake George, as an advance guard. Rogers' Ran- 
gers formed the vanguard of the British army, and they 
set out bravely, entering a thick wood, which became 
darker and more dense as they proceeded, the columns, 
of necessity, being broken. This was a situation en- 
tirely unfamiliar to the regular troops. Confusion fol- 
lowed and the soldiers soon lost their way. 



92 A History of Lake Champlain 

By a strange coincidence the advance guard of the 
French army, deserted by their Indian guides, had lost 
the trail. Thus it happened that in the dim light of the 
forest a lost detachment of Frenchmen stumbled upon a 
lost army of Englishmen, and a skirmish followed. The 
French were caught between the advance guard under 
Rogers and the main body of the British army. Many 
of them were killed, or drowned in attempting to reach a 
place of safety, while 148 were captured, and only 50 
escaped. 

Two British officers were killed, but the death of one 
of these was a loss immeasurably greater than that which 
the French sustained, for Lord Howe, the idol of the 
British army, had fallen dead at the first fire Great con- 
fusion followed and a retreat was sounded. That night 
Abercrombie's troops lay under arms in the forest, and 
on the morning of July 7 fell back to the landing place at 
Lake George. 

Howe was the real brains of the expedition, and 
great confidence had been reposed upon his skill and 
judgment. Wolfe's estimate of him was — "The noblest 
Englishman that has appeared in my time, and the best 
soldier in the British army." Howe was greatly beloved, 
both by the regulars and the colonial troops. He had 
treated the provincials with great kindness, and, as a 
tribute to this gallant soldier, Massachusetts erected a 
tablet to his memory in Westminster Abbey. 

On July 7 the task of capturing the post at the saw- 
mills was assigned to Lieutenant Colonel Bradstreet, 
who had a force including regulars, rangers, provincials, 
and watermen under his command. As the British ap- 
proached, the French retired, burning the mill and the 
bridges, the latter being repaired by Bradstreet's men. 



A History of Lake Champlain 93 

On the morning of July 8 Abercrombie's whole army 
advanced, following the usual portage. The British 
commander was eager to attack, fearing the French 
would be reinforced. It is true that reinforcements 
were approaching from the north, and the previous night, 
being warned of Abercrombie's advance, de Levis had 
been able to bring 400 picked troops to Montcalm's as- 
sistance. In his haste the British commander had left 
his artillery on the shore of Lake George. Clark, the 
chief engineer of the British army, had surveyed the 
French fortifications from a distant hilltop and decided 
that the works could be carried by assault. John Stark, 
who knew much of conditions as they actually existed, 
doubted the wisdom of such an assault ; but he was only a 
provincial officer, and his advice was not heeded. Lord 
Howe, who might have advised caution, was dead, and so 
the assault was ordered. 

A triple line was formed. In the first rank the rang- 
ers occupied the left, the boatmen, the centre; and the 
light infantry, the right. The second rank consisted of 
provincial troops, with wide openings between the regi- 
ments. The regulars constitu ed the third rank. Con- 
necticut and New Jersey regiments formed the rear 
guard. 

The French were ready fcr the attack. Berry with 
the Royal Roussilon battalion, held the centre under the 
direct command of Montcalrr. De Levis was on the 
right, with the La Reine, Bean e, and Guienne regiments. 
De Bourlamaque, with the regiments of La Sarre and 
Languedoc, defended the left. On the flanks, detach- 
ments of volunteers were posted on the Lake George side, 
while 450 Canadians and colonial regulars guarded the 
approach from Lake Champlain. 



94 A History of Lake Champlain 

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon the British commander 
ordered a bayonet charge. The Fifty-fifth regiment led, 
followed by Murray's Highlanders, including the famous 
Black Watch regiment, and the colonial troops. By 
Montcalm's orders not a gun was fired until the en- 
emy reached the outer defences. Then, as the British 
strove to force a passage through that impenetrable en- 
tanglement a fire of artillery and musketry was opened 
that was terrible in its execution. Again and again 
through that long July afternoon some of Britain's brav- 
est soldiers were hurled against the French defences, in 
the face of a withering fire, under which no man could 
approach within fifteen paces of the entrenchments 
and live. 

The Highlanders fought with ferocious courage, 
and the French defended their position with a valor 
born of desperation. "The fire on the one side and on 
the other," said Montcalm, "was like that at the battle 
of Parma." 

Montcalm, throwing off his coat, on account of the 
heat of the afternoon, moved from point to point, expos- 
ing himself like a common soldier. He strengthened 
every weak place, and by his splendid courage 
inspired every man to do his best. Finally, about 6 
o'clock, after six successive charges, which resulted 
each time only in raising higher the red heaps of the 
slain before the French defences, Abercrombie aban- 
doned the attack. He had suffered a loss, accord- 
ing to his own figures, of 551 killed, 1,356 wounded, and 
37 missing, a total casualty list of 1,944. Among the 
wounded was Capt. Charles Lee, later a major-general 
in the American army. The French loss is given as 377, 
General de Bourlamaque being severely wounded. 



A History of Lake Champlain 95 

Under cover of darkness Abercrombie retreated in 
haste from the scene of his defeat to the camp occupied 
the night before the battle. According to the French 
accounts, it was a flight of terror, the British abandon- 
ing some of their wounded, as well as a considerable 
quantity of provisions, ammunition, and baggage. 

After the battle Montcalm praised his soldiers for 
their brave and successful defence, and caused food and 
wine to be served for their refreshment. Fearing a re- 
newal of the attack the French troops toiled all the night, 
strengthening their works, while their opponents, 13,000 
strong, were fleeing with all possible speed from the de- 
fences of Carillon, which already had proved too strong 
to be taken by a powerful and confident foe. 

When morning dawned, and it was seen that the 
British had fled, Montcalm did not attempt a pursuit, 
considering it imprudent with his comparatively small 
force to venture out of his entrenchments. A British 
soldier afterward expressed the opinion that if the French 
had pursued, Abercrombie would have lost 2,000 men. 

Early on the morning of July 9, the British troops 
embarked and that evening reached their old camp at 
the head of Lake George. Immediately after Abercrom- 
bie's arrival he sent the wounded to Fort Edward and 
Albany, even his artillery and ammunition being trans- 
ported to the latter place for safety. 

Montcalm had won a remarkable victory, against 
great odds. Had Lord Howe lived, the result might 
have been different. Abercrombie was the victim of 
over-confidence. With an army vastly superior to that 
of his adversary, he had attempted by sheer brute force 
to carry by storm a position of great natural strength, 
skilfully defended by a resourceful and courageous en- 



96 A History of Lake Champlain 

emy. Had he brought up his artillery, it is probable 
that he might have demolished the French defences with 
little loss of life. Mount Defiance commanded the fort 
then as surely as it did when Burgoyne occupied that 
eminence a score of years later, and compelled St. Clair 
to evacuate Ticonderoga in haste. Had the British 
commander cut Montcalm's line of communication to 
the northward, the French army would have been starved 
into submission soon, for there were only eight days' 
provisions in Fort Carillon. A severe famine had pre- 
vailed in Canada and food was difficult to obtain. Sel- 
dom has an expedition started out with greater pomp and 
show than did that of Abercrombie. Not often has a 
body of troops retreated with less glory than that same 
army. 

M. Doriel, writing to Marshal de Belle Isle, speaks 
of Montcalm's position as "difficult and critical." The 
writer would have regarded this campaign as much more 
fortunate than those preceding it had Montcalm acted, 
on the defensive and merely escaped blame. He also 
intimates that Governor Vaudreuil was jealous of Mont- 
calm, and that 2,000 or 3,000 men were purposely with- 
held from the French commander for the ostensible pur- 
pose of making experiments in the Iroquois country, in 
order that Montcalm, with his small force, might be 
"strangled." Vaudreuil admitted later that previous 
to the victory over Abercrombie the plan of blowing up 
Forts Carillon and Frederic and falling back to St. Johns 
was well nigh adopted. 

The news of the victory for the arms of France was 
conveyed to Paris by M. Pean, adjutant of Quebec. 
Montcalm ordered a great cross to be erected on the field 



A History of Lake Champlain 97 

of battle, says Parkman, on which were inscribed these 
lines, written by the French commander: 

"Soldier and chief and ramparts' strength are naught; 
"Behold the conquering cross! 'Tis God the triumph 
wrought." 

Pitt had been waiting with eagerness for news from 
the Champlain valley, and when it came he wrote Gren- 
ville, "I own the news has sunk my spirits and left very 
painful impressions on my mind, without, however, de- 
priving me of great hopes for the remaining campaign." 
How well founded were Pitt's hopes, subsequent events 
were to show. 

As a result of this defeat Abercrombie was super- 
seded as commander-in-chief by General Amherst, and 
returned to England to take a seat in Parliament. Bet- 
ter success attended the British arms elsewhere. In 
August Bradstreet marched to Oswego, and captured 
Fort Frontenac. 

Following the battle at Ticonderoga, border warfare 
was resumed in the Champlain valley, Rogers again lead- 
ing the British forces, and Marin commanding the 
French parties. During one of these expeditions Maj. 
Israel Putnam, afterward a prominent officer and pic- 
turesque figure in the American Revolution, was 
taken by the Indians of Marin's division. The cap- 
tive was bound securely to a tree and a young brave in- 
dulged in the sport of seeing how near Putnam's head he 
could throw a tomahawk without hitting it. Several 
times the weapon lodged in the tree perilously near the 
mark. A gun was snapped at Putnam's breast and he 
was beaten with the butt of a musket. It was then de- 
termined to burn the prisoner at the stake. He was 
-stripped of his clothing and bound to a tree. Dried 



98 A History of Lake Champlain 

twigs were heaped about him and the torch was applied. 
Just as his body was beginning to be scorched by the heat 
and death appeared to be certain in a few minutes, Marin 
rushed to the scene, broke through the circle of savages 
who were watching the torture of the prisoner with 
glee, scattered the burning branches, and released the 
prisoner. 

Meanwhile Governor Vaudreuil, in Canada, was 
plotting against Montcalm, the ablest soldier France had 
sent to the New World, and seeking to bring about his 
recall, instead of attempting to strengthen the French 
position, which was precarious. At times Montcalm, 
wearied by the difficulties of his position, longed to re- 
turn to France, saying that his health had suffered and 
that his purse was depleted. Moreover the entire 
province of Canada was exhausted by famine, war, and 
intrigue. 

In the fall of 1758 Montcalm feared that it would be 
possible for the British to drive the French from Fort 
Carillon, and intimated that it might be well to have that 
fortification and Fort Frederic mined that they might be 
blown up as a last resort. 

There was an early frost this year, said to be "unex- 
ampled within the last fifty years," and it was followed 
by a winter of unusual severity. Notwithstanding the 
extreme cold three small ships, called xebecs, were built 
to convey artillery and protect the French interests on 
the lake, and 250 flat bateaux were constructed for car- 
rying troops and provisions. 

The year 1759 opened auspiciously for Great Brit- 
ain. From far off Africa, from the East Indian seas, and 
from the continent of Europe, came the tidings of suc- 
cess. Pitt exercised great care in the choice of generals 



A History of Lake Champlain 99 

for the American campaign, selecting officers for their 
actual worth rather than because they were favorites of 
some dignitary at court. To Amherst, the commander- 
in-chief, was assigned the task of capturing Lake Cham- 
plain with the main army. 

In the spring of 1759 de Bourlamaque was assigned 
to the command of the French frontier posts in the Cham- 
plain valley, with 2,300 men. Conditions were so pre- 
carious that he received positive orders from Governor 
Vaudreuil not to think of defending Forts Carillon and 
Frederic, but to abandon them as the British approached 
and to fall back to Isle aux Noix in the Richelieu River, 
in the rear of St. Johns, which was judged to be the best 
place to check an advance upon Canada. The French 
commander, however, proceeded to strengthen the forti- 
fications of Fort Carillon, as though he expected to 
withstand a siege. 

Doriel and Bougainville had been sent to France to 
secure aid, but obtained only the promise of a few hun- 
dred men and supplies for a campaign. The European 
wars were absorbing practically all the energies of France 
and the possibility of the loss of an empire in America did 
not appear to weigh heavily in the scales of opinion at 
the court of Versailles. Canada was torn with dissen- 
sions, honeycombed by corruption, and exhausted by 
war and famine. From the French point of view the 
outlook was disheartening indeed. All the skill and 
audacity of Montcalm were needed for the defence of 
Quebec and he could not be spared for another campaign 
on Lake Champlain. 

Colonel Montresor had outlined a plan of cam- 
paign for the British, which called for an army of 7,000 
men at Lake George. He advised that 3,000 men, pro- 



100 A History of Lake Champlain 

vided with suitable tools, stores, and provisions, be sent 
to Otter Creek, below the falls, there to build bateaux 
and rafts sufficient to cross the lakes when ordered to do 
so. He suggested that this force should take post at one 
of the points of land at the mouth of the stream, there to 
remain for further orders. His idea was to have 500 car- 
penters and boatbuilders, 1,000 New Hampshire Rangers 
and 1,500 Connecticut troops stationed there to act in 
conjunction with the forces at Lake George, the latter to 
move on Ticonderoga. The Otter Creek force was to 
cross the lake and occupy the road to Crown Point, cut- 
ting off all provisions and reinforcements from Canada, 
and putting the enemy between two fires. Events were 
soon to prove these plans unnecessary, however. 

Amherst arrived at the head of Lake George on 
June 21, and there he waited a month for reinforce- 
ments. His army included 5,743 regulars, the Royal 
Americans forming a part of this force, and nearly as 
many more colonial troops. On July 21, having made 
all necessary preparations for a formidable expedition, he 
embarked his army in four columns and proceeded slowly 
down Lake George, making a landing at the foot of the lake 
on July 22. The French commander endeavored to per- 
suade his Indian allies to attack the British as they dis- 
embarked, but they refused to make the attempt. Un- 
like Abercrombie, Amherst brought up his artillery and 
occupied the outer line of fortifications at Ticonderoga 
which the French, after a slight skirmish, had abandon- 
ed. While Amherst was making preparations for a siege 
Bourlamaque retired from Fort Caril!on, to Fort Fred- 
eric, under cover of darkness, leaving 400 men of the La 
Reine regiment, under Hebencourt to make a show of de- 
fence. For four days this handful of French soldiers 



A History of Lake Champlain 101 

kept up an artillery duel with Amherst's army, Col. 
Roger Townshend being killed by a cannon ball while 
reconnoitering the fort. Finally, on the night of July 27, 
when the British were almost ready to assault the.works, 
after conducting regular siege operations, the little 
garrison fled, having blown up the works and rend- 
ered the guns useless. 

Amherst set about repairing the fort. During his 
stay here there was considerable sickness in the army, 
caused, it was supposed, by the water at Ticonderoga. 

On July 31, having blown up Fort Frederic, Bourla- 
maque retired to Isle aux Noix w T ith all the artillery and 
provisions he could transport from the two forts he had 
evacuated. Thus, after a full century and a half of con- 
trol, did French supremacy practically pass from Lake 
Champlain. 

Bourlamaque proceeded to place the post of Isle aux 
Noix in the best possible condition. He left on the lake 
a schooner armed with ten four-pounders, and three 
small xebecs, each carrying eight guns of the same cali- 
bre, and a crew of fifty men. The commander of this 
small squadron had orders to cruise continually at the 
mouth of the lake to obstruct the passage of the enemy. 

A detachment of Amherst's army under Major 
Rogers set out for Crown Point on the day that the 
French evacuated Fort Frederic, but did not attempt to 
pursue Bourlamaque Amherst arrived at Crown Point 
on August 4, and proceeded to lay out a new fortress, 
about 200 yards west of Fort Frederic, sometimes called 
Fort Amherst. The ramparts were about twenty-five 
feet high and twenty-five feet wide, of solid masonry, and 
the whole circuit, including the bastion, was 853 yards. 
A broad moat surrounded the fort. A covered way led 
to the water's edge at the northeast and there was a gate 



102 A History of Lake Champlain 

on the north side. The new fortress is said to have cost 
Great Britain about $10,000,000. It was never entirely 
completed, and never saw a battle. 

The British army remained at Crown Point, while 
Captain Loring, in charge of naval operations on these 
waters, with the greatest possible speed constructed boats 
for an expedition down the lake. On Oct. 12 the fleet 
set out for the Canadian border. The vanguard con- 
sisted of an armed brigantine, carrying sixteen 18- 
pounders, three snows (square rigged vessels), and 160 
flat bateaux. 

Early in October the little French fleet under De- 
labarats with a detachment of troops on board, set out 
to reconnoitre in the vicinity of Crown Point, and it 
chanced that during the night, while the French boats 
were at anchor, the British fleet passed to the north- 
ward without discovering the foe. Delabarats, seeing 
his retreat cut off, called a council of war, and it was de- 
cided to sink the ships, which was done, near Valcour 
Island. The crews escaped through the woods to Can- 
ada. 

The British ships continued northward and enter- 
ingthe Richelieu River, advanced nearly to Isle aux Noix. 
The French scouts were driven back by fifteen or twenty 
barges, and on Oct. 20 the intrenchments of the enemy 
were reconnoitred. The fleet then withdrew and on Oct. 
23 retired up the lake, after being windbound for several 
days. As the autumn winds were severe and the ba- 
teaux narrowly escaped being swamped, the idea of at- 
tacking the frontier was abandoned for the season. 
Amherst attempted to send messages to Wolfe at Que- 
bec, by way of the country of the Abenakis, but they 
were captured by the French. 



A History of Lake Champlain 103 

During the British occupancy of Crown Point Am- 
herst ordered Colonel Goff with a New Hampshire regi- 
ment to construct a road across what is now Vermont, to 
a fort on the Connecticut River, at Charlestown, N. H., 
'known as Number Four. Beginning two miles north of 
this post, a road was built for twenty-six miles, when 
a path was found leading to Otter Creek, and a good 
trail from thence to the lake. 

In October, 1759, Maj. Robert Rogers was ordered to 
make a raid into Canada. General Amherst instructed 
him to attack the Indian settlements in such a man- 
ner as he should judge "most effectual to disgrace the 
enemy," and added: "Remember the barbarities that 
have been committed by the enemy, Indian scoundrels, 
on every occasion where they have had an opportunity 
of showing their infamous cruelties on the King's sub- 
jects; which they have done without mercy; take your 
revenge; but do not forget that though these villains 
have dastardly and promiscuously murdered the women 
and children of all orders, it is my orders that no women 
or children be killed or hurt." 

Rogers set out with 200 men, but five days after 
leaving Crown Point, while encamped on the eastern 
shore of the lake, a keg of gunpowder accidentally 
was ignited, the explosion which followed wounding a 
captain and several men. The injured with an escort 
were sent back to Crown Point. The party being re- 
duced to 142 men proceeded and reached Missisquoi Bay 
after a trip of seven days from Crown Point. Here the 
boats were concealed under the overhanging bushes that 
bordered the shore and and sufficient provisions were left 
in them to supply the party on the return to Crown 
Point. Two men remained to guard the boats. When 



104 A History of Lake Champlain 

two days' march from Missisquoi Bay the men left to 
guard the boats overtook the expedition and informed 
Rogers that a party of 400 French and Indians had dis- 
covered the boats and sent them away with fifty men, 
the rest of the party being in pursuit of Rogers and his 
force. The veteran Ranger kept this information a se- 
cret and sending back a few men to inform Amherst of the 
new turn affairs had taken, and asking that provis- 
ions be forwarded to Newbury, on the Connecticut River, 
he pushed on with all possible speed. Arriving on the 
evening of Oct. 4 at the outskirts of the village of the St. 
Francis Indians, situated at the head of the river of the 
same name, Rogers and two of his men who understood 
the native language, dressed themselves in Indian garb 
and reconnoitred the settlement. The members of the 
tribe were engaged in a dance and festivities, which con- 
tinued until 4 o'clock the morning of Oct. 5. Waiting 
until the savages were asleep, at break of day, Rogers 
made a general assault. Men, women, and children were 
slain and a great number of scalps were taken as trophies. 
In a village of 300 persons, 200 were killed and 20 were 
taken prisoners. Rogers' casualties were one killed and 
six slightly wounded. The village was burned, and after 
resting an hour Rogers started at 8 o'clock in the morn- 
ing, on the return trip, taking with him five English cap- 
tives, whom he had released. 

Being annoyed by the enemy, on his retreat, an 
ambuscade was formed, which put a stop to further har- 
assing tactics by the enemy. The party kept together 
for about ten days, until the eastern shore of Lake Mem- 
phremagog was reached. Provisions becoming scarce, 
Rogers ordered his men to scatter in small parties and 
make their way in, as best they could, to the mouth of 



A History of Lake Champlain 105 

the Upper Ammonoosuc River. When the place agreed 
upon for meeting was reached, to the consternation of 
Rogers no provisions were found. The officer sent with 
relief had waited only two days, and a camp fire still 
burning showed that he had just departed. Guns were 
fired, but to no purpose. Leaving most of his men, who 
were unable to proceed further on account of hunger and 
fatigue, Rogers, Captain Ogden, one Ranger, and a cap- 
tive Indian boy embarked on a raft made of dry pine 
trees, and proceeded down the Connecticut River, seek- 
ing aid. The trip was a perilous one, and they narrowly 
escaped being carried over White River falls. Going 
around these falls, Rogers burned down trees and built 
another raft, continuing as far as Ottaquechee falls, over 
which the raft was taken in safety. On the fourth day 
of this stage of the journey the fort at Number Four 
(Charlestown, N. H.) was reached. A canoe with pro- 
visions was dispatched to the relief of the party left be- 
hind, and a little later Rogers with other canoes and sup- 
plies returned to aid his comrades. Crown Point was 
reached Dec. 1, forty-nine men having been lost on the 
return trip from the St. Francis village. The men whom 
Rogers left on the banks of the Connecticut, while he 
went to seek relief, were kept from starvation by eating 
ground nuts and lily roots. Although the price paid was 
a heavy one, the expedition w r as successful in stopping In- 
dian depredations. 

In May, 1760, Amherst sent Rogers with a party of 
275 of his Rangers, and 25 of the light infantry, to sur- 
prise the French forts at St. Johns and Chambly. Land- 
ing 200 men, on June 4, at what is now Rouses Point, he 
sent the remainder of his force back to Isle La Motte, 
under command of Captain Grant. Instead of surpris- 



106 A History of Lake Champlain 

ing the enemy, Rogers, himself, was surprised, being at- 
tacked on June 6 by 350 French soldiers from Isle aux 
Noix, commanded by M. La Force. The attacking 
party was repulsed and retired to the island stronghold, 
losing forty men killed, and several wounded among 
whom was La Force. In the British ranks, Ensign Ward 
and sixteen Rangers were killed, and Captain Johnson 
and ten men were wounded, Johnson dying a few days 
later. Rogers retired to Isle La Motte, where he re- 
mained until June 9. At that time he landed at the 
mouth of the Great Chazy River, and making a detour 
around Isle aux Noix destroyed the small stockade fort of 
St. Therese, below St. Johns. He took twenty-five pris- 
oners and retired, reaching Crown Point on June 23. 

Gen. Bourlemaque withdrew most of his forces from 
the frontier on Nov. 28, 1759, leaving in the stockaded 
fort, constructed in the centre of Isle aux Noix, a garri- 
son of 300 men under Captain Lusignan. Fort St. John 
was garrisoned by 200 of the Royal Roussilon regiment 
under Captain Valette. Lieutenant Colonel Roque- 
maure, with the battalion of La Reine, was quartered at 
Fort Chambly, and had command of the frontier. 

The British campaign of 1760 on Lake Champlain 
was not opened until late in the summer. Amherst had 
gone to Oswego, and Colonel Haviland, with 1,500 regu- 
lars, 1,800 colonial troops, and some Indians, left Crown 
Point, Aug. 16, and encamped near Isle aux Noix, oppo- 
site the French works. Batteries were erected, and on 
Aug. 23 a heavy fire was opened. Two days later a bat- 
tery was planted that commanded one of the French 
ships. The captain cut his cable and attempted to with- 
draw, but he and a part of the crew were killed, and the 
remainder escaped death, some by swimming to the 



A History of Lake Champlain 107 

island, and others to the enemy. Haviland seized the 
vessel and soon captured the rest of the little fleet, 
which consisted of a similar tartane, a schooner, a gab- 
arene armed with four guns, and four boats, each carry- 
ing an eight-pounder. With these vessels the British 
were able to carry their artillery and barges to the rear 
of the French fortifications. The post now being ren- 
dered untenable, Bougainville evacuated it at 10 o'clock 
the night of Aug. 27, retreating to St. Johns. The fort 
at Isle auxNoix was supplied with provisions for the 1,650 
men stationed there. 

On the night of Aug. 29, having been joined by the 
Isle aux Noix garrison, Colonel Roquemaure set fire to 
the fort at St. Johns, and retired to Laprairie, near Mont- 
real. 

Colonel Haviland followed, and on Sept. 7 Montreal 
was invested by three armies, Haviland coming from 
Lake Champlain, Amherst from Oswego, and Murray 
from Quebec. The ancient capital of Canada, founded 
by Champlain, had surrendered to the British. Mont- 
calm was in his grave, having been fatally wounded on 
the Plains of Abraham, where his victorious opponent, 
Wolfe had received a mortal wound. Driven to the last 
extremity, Governor Vaudreuil was compelled to sign 
articles of capitulation by which he surrendered 2,200 
regulars. Of these, 1,600 or 1,700 returned to France, the 
rest remaining to settle in Canada. 

Thus the banner of France, which, with one brief in- 
terval, had waved proudly over Mount Royal since first 
planted there more than two centuries before by Jacques 
Cartier, master pilot of St. Malo, now gave place to the 
red standard of Britain. With the surrender of Mont- 
real, French dominion passed from the great valleys of 



108 A History of Lake Champlain 

North America, and although continuing for another half 
century in the West, yet the real opportunity of building 
a French empire in the New World had departed. Al- 
though opposed in the campaigns of 1759 and 1760 by a 
powerful foe, led by skilful generals, the French were 
beaten, not so much by the British, as by themselves. 

John Richard Green says the conquest of Canada, 
"by removing the enemy whose dread knit the colonists 
to the mother country and by flinging open to their en- 
ergies in the days to come the boundless plains of the 
West, laid the foundations of the United States.",, 



A History of Lake Champlain 109 

CHAPTER VI. 
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS BEGUN 

Soon after peace was declared between France and 
Great Britain, adventurous settlers began to come into 
the Champlain valley. The French colonists had de- 
parted to Canada with the retreating army of their King. 
The blackened chimneys of the burned buildings of the 
settlement on the Vermont side of the lake, in the pres- 
ent town of Addison, nearly opposite Crown Point, 
gave rise to the name Chimney Point. 

Following the close of the French and Indian War, 
the colony of New York issued grants on both sides of 
the lake to more than eighty reduced British officers. 
Charlotte county had been organized, including both the 
east and west shores of the lake. A large section be- 
tween Otter Creek and Malletts Bay was set aside for the 
"disbanded soldiers of the recent wars." The reason 
why the settlements under these grants were not more 
numerous could have been explained by the Green 
Mountain Boys. 

The first permanent settlement made by English 
speaking people on Lake Champlain seems to have been 
that of Philip Skene, a Scotchman, said to have been a 
lineal descendant of William Wallace, the famous Scot- 
tish hero. He had fought in the battle of Culloden, 
came to America as a captain of the Inniskilling Foot, and 
served under Abercrombie and Amherst in their cam- 
paigns around Lake Champlain, being made a major, 



110 A History of Lake Cham plain 

while in the service. In 1761 he secured a grant near 
the mouth of Wood Creek. Here he founded Skenes- 
borough, later known as Whitehall, N. Y. In 1765 he 
secured a further grant of 25,000 acres. Upon his new 
settlement he built a mansion of stone, 40 by 30 feet in 
size, and two and one half stories high. His grants in- 
cluded an ore bed and he was the first to work the iron 
deposits of that region. He erected a large stone forge, 
also a stone building 130 feet long, used as a military gar- 
rison and depot. In 1771 he secured a grant of 2,400 
acres of the best land in Westport, N. Y. He cut a road 
through the forests to Salem, N. Y., a distance of about 
thirty miles. Skene also owned a sloop, which plied be- 
tween Skenesborough and Canada. 

At an early date there was a flourishing settlement 
of French and Indians at Swanton falls, on the Missis- 
quoi River, in the present State of Vermont. While 1759 
is the earliest year in which there is an authentic record 
regarding this village, it is supposed that it was estab- 
lished long before that time. A stone church was built 
and a saw mill was constructed, a channel being cut 
through the rocks to supply water. Land was cleared 
and corn and vegetables were raised. It is said that at 
one time there were fifty huts in this village. Many 
specimens of pottery and implements have been found 
here. Probably most of the French settlers retired to 
Canada about 1760, the forts on Lake Champlain having 
been abandoned. In 1765, or a little later, James Rob- 
ertson settled at Missisquoi falls, engaged in traffic with 
the Indians and conducted a lumber business. At one 
time between the close of the French and Indian War 
and the outbreak of the Revolution, as many as fifty 
men, mostly of French descent, were employed in the 



A History of Lake Champlain 111 

lumber industry here. Robertson's mill is supposed to. 
have occupied the site of the old French sawmill. A large 
house, two stories high was also built. This settlement 
was burned about the time of the outbreak of the War 
for Independence. The last of the Indians are supposed 
to have left by 1776. Swanton was chartered Oct. 17, 
1763 by Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire, but 
no permanent English settlement was made until after 
the Revolution. 

In 1763 John La Frombois, a Canadian, with two 
companions named Goude and Swarte, made a short stay 
in what is now the town of Chazy, N. Y. Returning to 
Canada, La Frombois, in 1768, obtained from Francis 
McKay permission to settle on a tract which the latter 
claimed to hold as part of a grant made to M. La Gau- 
chetiere, and later assigned to one of the McKay family. 
La Frombois took possession of two lots, on one of which 
he built a house. In 1776 he was driven off by the British, 
and his house was burned. In 1784 he returned, rebuilt 
his house, and remained in possession of the property 
until his death in 1810. 

Joseph La Monte settled near the La Frombois 
farm in 1774. He abandoned his home in 1776, but re- 
turned after the Revolutionary War had ended, and 
again occupied his property. 

In 1765 William Gilliland, who had served as a pri- 
vate in the Thirty-fifth regiment of the British army in 
the French and Indian War, during one of the Lake 
Champlain campaigns, purchased twelve large tracts on 
the west side of the lake between Crown Point and Cum- 
berland Head, the land being mostly grants made to sol- 
diers. Gilliland established his home on the Boquet 
River, in the present town of Westport. Here a consid- 



112 A History of Lake Champlain 

erable settlement grew up. According to a statement 
made by the proprietor, at one time there were ninety- 
eight inhabitants on Gilliland's estate, exclusive of his 
household. There were twenty-eight dwellings, and 
and about forty other buildings, two grist mills and two 
sawmills, gardens, orchards, etc. Gilliland at one time 
estimated his annual income at more than one thousand 
pounds. He did much surveying, and in a journal which 
he kept, he tells of some of his expeditions. On one of 
these trips, in 1766, he went to Grand Isle, and on Aug. 9 
he stopped at the river Alamoille (Lamoille), which, he 
says, "lies about east of the south end cape of Grand Isle; 
is a very large river, much larger than Otter Creek; went 
about 6 miles up it, no falls or rapids appeared, continued 
smooth, deep and wide, is well stored with fish, the land 
on both sides very sandy and bad, much ordinary pine 
timber. Near the lake the land is very low, looks as if 
flooded in spring." 

A grant of land opposite Valcour Island was made in 
1765 to Lieutenant Friswell, and on this William Hay and 
Henry Cross settled. 

Captain or Count Charles de Fredenburgh, a poor 
German nobleman, received a grant in 1766 of about 
30,000 acres near the mouth of the Saranac River. He 
built a house where Plattsburgh, N. Y., now stands, and 
erected a sawmill. Following the outbreak of the 
Revolutionary War he removed his family to Montreal. 
He returned to protect his property but his house and 
mill were soon burned, and it is supposed that he was 
murdered. 

In William Gilliland's journal a reference is made, 
under date of Jan. 31, 1767, to James Logan, of Shel- 
burne. Logan and Pottier, two Germans, settled at 



A History of Lake Champlain 113 

Shelburne, (Vt.,) being among the first to occupy land in 
the Champlain valley. They were associated in the bus- 
iness of getting out timber for the Quebec market. Two 
points extending into the lake on the Shelburne shore 
perpetuate their names. Tradition says that these men 
were murdered for their money at the northern end of the 
lake by a band of soldiers sent out from Montreal to pro- 
tect them from the Indians. A small colony, probably 
about ten families, had been formed here prior to the 
Revolution, and Moses Pierson was one of the first set- 
tlers. The town was chartered by Governor Went- 
worth of New Hampshire, Aug. 18, 1763. 

Charlotte, (Vt.,) was chartered by Governor Went- 
worth — as were nearly all the towns on the west side of 
the lake — June 24, 1762. The first attempt to make a 
settlement here was by Derick Webb in 1776, but he did 
not stay long. 

Ferrisburgh, (Vt.,) was chartered June 24, 1762, to 
several persons named Ferris and others. Charles Tup- 
per came to this town from Pittsfield, Mass., just before 
the Revolution. .He returned to Massachusetts with 
the outbreak of hostilities, and was killed while serving 
in the American army. 

Panton, (Vt.,) was chartered Nov. 3, 1764. Prob- 
ably the first settlers were Joseph Pangborn and Odle 
Squire, from Cornwall, Conn. They were joined soon 
after their arrival by Timothy Spaulding and others from 
the same town. Peter Ferris came from Nine Partners, 
N. Y., probably in 1766. His wife died before the Rev- 
olution and her death is said to have been the first in 
town. Elijah Grandy came to town in 1773, and Phin- 
eas Holcomb came in 1774. 



114 A History of Lake Champlain 

Addison, (Vt.,) was chartered Oct. 14, 1761. Ben- 
jamin Kellogg, one of General Amherst's soldiers, while 
stationed at Crown Point, frequently came to the salt 
licks in what is now the town of Addison to obtain veni- 
son for the officers of the army, and was favorably im- 
pressed by the appearance of the country. In October, 
1763, the governor of New York made grants of land in 
this town to Col. David Wooster, Col. Charles Forbes, 
Lieutenant Ramsay, Sir John Sinclair, J. W. Hagarty, 
and a Mr. Wilkins. Following the close of the French 
and Indian War, Mr. Kellogg returned nearly every 
year to visit his former hunting grounds. In 1765 
Zadock Everett and David Vallance began a clearing 
about three miles north of Chimney Point. Mr. Kel- 
logg came up from his Connecticut home that year for 
his annual autumn hunt, and with him came John 
Strong, seeking a home in this new country. Selecting 
the foundations of an old French residence, Strong built 
a house, with the aid of his companions. It is claimed 
that this was the first dwelling erected in Western Ver- 
mont by a settler of English birth. Later, Colonel Woos- 
ter, afterward a major general in the American army 
during the Revolutionary War, with a New York sheriff, 
attempted to oust the settlers under the New Hamp- 
shire title, others having located here, but the Green 
Mountain Boys, by threats of the "Beech Seal," drove 
Wooster's party away. 

The experiences of the family of John Strong, who 
came to this town on the ice, by way of Lakes George and 
Champlain, in February, 1766, are typical of what not a 
few of the pioneer settlers in the Champlain valley en- 
dured. In September, Strong and a few neighbors went 
to Albany to secure supplies. The only door to the house 



A History of Lake Champlain 115 

was a blanket suspended at the opening. The fall even- 
ings were growing cool, and a fire was needed for warmth. 
A kettle of samp had just been taken from over the fire- 
place, and preparations were being made for supper, when 
hearing a noise at the door Mrs. Strong looked up to see 
a bear's head thrusting the blanket aside. Hastily or- 
dering the children up a ladder to the loft, she caught up 
the baby from its rude cradle, and followed them, pulling 
the ladder up after them. As the floor was made of small 
poles, it was possible to observe what was going on below. 
The bear soon entered the room with her two cubs. Af- 
ter upsetting the milk that had been placed on the table, 
the old bear espied the kettle of hot samp, and thrusting 
her head into it swallowed a large mouthful and took an- 
other before discovering that the food was boiling hot. 
With an angry roar the beast struck the kettle, upsetting 
and breaking it. Then, sitting up on her haunches, she 
tried to claw the hot pudding from her mouth, whining 
and growling meanwhile. The cubs sat on their hind 
legs, one on each side, gazing in wonder at their mother's 
plight. The situation was so ludicrous that the children, 
despite their danger, broke into loud laughter. This 
aroused the bear to furious anger, and the animal tried 
again and again to reach the woman and children in the 
loft, but without success. When Mr. Strong returned 
he made a stout basswood door, hung on wooden hinges, 
which prevented any further visits from wild animals. 

Bridport, (Vt.,) was chartered Oct. 10, 1761. Philip 
Stone, who came to this town in 1768, was the first per- 
manent settler. A little later two families, Richardson 
and Smith, settled on lands secured by New York titles, 
and three families, Towner, Chipman, and Plumer, set- 
tled upon New Hampshire grants. Others followed, but 



116 A History of Lake Champlain 

most of them retired with the outbreak of war. During 
the year 1772 Ethan Allen, who had become famous as a 
leader of the Green Mountain Boys, and Eli Roberts, of 
Vergennes, stopped over night at the home of a Mr. Rich- 
ards, in this town. Allen had made himself so obnoxious 
to the New York authorities, by his zeal in defending the 
land titles issued under New Hampshire authority, that 
a price had been set upon his head. Six soldiers from 
the Crown Point garrison also stopped for the night at 
the Richards house. Overhearing a plan to capture 
the Green Mountain leader, and secure the bounty, Mrs. 
Richards warned Allen and his companion. One version 
of the story is that she helped them out of a window; the 
other is that the two men slipped out of the door without 
hats or guns, and that the hostess passed their property 
to them through a window, and thus enabled them to es- 
cape. Robert Hamilton was the first person born in 
Bridport, the year being 1772. 

Orwell, (Vt.,) was chartered Aug. 8, 1763. John Car- 
ter soon settled near Mount Independence, and lived 
there several years before the Revolution. 

Shoreham, (Vt.,) was chartered Oct. 8, 1761, and its 
settlement was begun about 1766. Among the first set- 
tlers were Ephraim Doolittle, Paul Moore, David and 
James Hemenway, Robert Gray, James Forbush, John 
Crigo, Daniel and Nahum Southgate, Samuel Wolcott, 
and Amos Callender. The Moravian plan was adopted, 
all property being held in common. This settlement, 
like nearly all the others along the lake, was broken up 
during the Revolution. 

Salisbury, (Vt.,) was chartered Nov. 3, 1761. Amos 
Story was the first settler, but was killed soon after com- 
ing to the town, by a falling tree. Mrs. Ann Story, his 



A History of Lake Champlain 117 

widow, with her large family of children, came Feb. 22, 
1775. She felled the trees and rolled the logs to the 
place selected for a home and there built a house. She 
cleared fields and cultivated them, doing the work of a 
man. During the Revolution she had a place of con- 
cealment in a cave in the bank of the Otter Creek, hidden 
by overhanging bushes. 

Middlebury, (Vt.,) was chartered Nov. 2, 1761. In 
1766 John Chipman came from Salisbury, Conn., with 
fifteen other young men, who were on their way to vari- 
ous parts of the new country, cutting their way through 
the wilderness. Chipman made a clearing of six or 
eight acres. Benjamin Smalley was the first settler to 
bring his family to town and to build a log house. 

New Haven, (Vt.,) was chartered Nov. 2, 1761. A 
few families came from Salisbury, Conn., in 1769, among 
them being John Griswold and his five sons. A New 
York grant gave to John Reid a tract four miles wide on 
both sides of Otter Creek from the mouth to Sutherland 
Falls. With his followers Reid drove away the settlers 
under the New Hampshire patents after they 
had cleared lands and made roads. Thereupon 
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys ejected Reid 
and his party, and destroyed their grist mill. Reid 
returned with a party of Scotch settlers, and once 
more expelled the original owners and repaired the mill. 
Again the Green Mountain Boys visited Reid's settle- 
ment, driving off the Scotch emigrants, burning their 
crops, and breaking the millstones, which they threw 
over the falls. A blockhouse, called Fort William was 
erected at the falls of Otter Creek to defend the settlers 
against the "Yorkers." 



118 A History of Lake Champlain 

Colchester, (Vt.,) was chartered June 7, 1763. A set- 
tlement was begun at the falls on the Winooski River (or 
the Onion, as it was called at that time) in 1772 by Ira 
Allen and his uncle, Remember Baker. In 1773 Baker 
brought his wife and three children to town. The rec- 
ord for a proprietors' meeting held March 24, 1774 and 
recorded in the handwriting of Ira Allen, the first town 
clerk, relate the fact that Ethan Allen, Remember Baker, 
Heman Allen, Zimri Allen, and Ira Allen, forming the 
Onion River Company, had "expended large sums of 
money in cutting a road from Castleton to said river 
[the Winooski] seventy miles through the woods." A 
blockhouse called Fort Frederick was built on the north 
bank of the river probably near the present highway 
bridge between Burlington and Winooski. It was made 
of hewn timber, being two stories in height, with 
32 portholes in the upper story. 

Joshua Stanton settled in town in 1775. At an early 
date a Frenchman named Mallett settled on the shore of 
the bay which bears his name. When he came and 
whence he came are matters unknown. He died in 1789 
or 1790 and his clearing is said to to have appeared very 
ancient when he died. Possibly he was one of the French- 
men who remained behind when his fellow countrymen 
retired to Canada in 1759. 

Burlington, (Vt.,) was chartered June 7, 1763. Felix 
Powell came to town in 1773, bought land on Appletree 
Point, cleared a tract, and built a log house. Later Lem- 
uel Bradley and others arrived and settlements were 
made on the river opposite the clearing made by Allen 
and Baker. 

Hinesburgh, (Vt.,) was chartered June 24, 1762, 
Probably the only settlers before the Revolution were 



A History of Lake Cham plain 119 

Isaac Lawrence, from Canaan, Conn., and Abner Chaf- 
fee. 

Jericho, (Vt.,) was chartered June 7, 1763. Three 
men with their families, Roderick Messenger, from 
Claverick, N. Y., Joseph Brown, from Great Barrington, 
Mass., and Azariah Rood, from Lanesboro, Mass., set- 
tled here before the Revolution. 

Williston was chartered June 7, 1763. The 
first settlers, who came in May, 1774, were Thomas Chit- 
tenden, of Salisbury, Conn., later the first governor of 
Vermont, and Jonathan Spafford. 

Milton, (Vt.,) was chartered June 8, 1763, and 
Georgia, (Vt.,) Aug. 17, 1763, but neither town was set 
tied until after the Revolution. 

St. Albans, (Vt.,) was chartered Aug. 17, 1763. Jesse 
Welden, originally from Salisbury, Conn., the early 
home of so many Vermont pioneers and leaders, but 
coming to town before the Revolution from Sunderland, 
(Vt.,) was the first settler, but he left when war broke 
out, returning after the danger had passed. 

Highgate, (Vt.,) was chartered Aug. 17, 1763, but was 
not settled until the War for Independence had ended. 

Few settlements were made on the western side of 
the lake before the Revolution, the exceptions to the rule 
already having been mentioned. 

Allusion has been made to the land controversies be- 
tween the New York authorities and the settlers on the 
New Hampshire Grants, which made the last few 
years before the war between Great Britain and her 
American colonies a period of great turbulence for 
some of the dwellers in the valley east of Lake Cham- 
plain. 



120 A History of Lake Champlain 

According to Ira Allen's History of Vermont, the 
author being a brother of Ethan Allen, the leader of the 
opposition to the New York authority, and himself one 
of the active spirits among the Green Mountain Boys, a 
plan was formed in 1774 by Colonel Allen, Amos Bird, 
and other men prominent in the disputed territory, act- 
ing in conjunction with Col. Philip Skene, proprietor of 
Skenesborough, to establish a new royal colony. This col- 
ony was to include the region north of the Mohawk 
River to the 45th parallel of latitude, now the northern 
boundary of Vermont, east of the Connecticut River, ex- 
tending west to Lake Ontario, the southern boundary 
presumably being the northern line of Massachusetts. 
Colonel Skene was to be governor, and Skenesborough 
the capital of the new province. Skene went to London 
in pursuit of this object. Having secured the appoint- 
ment of governor of the fortresses of Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, he was advised, before applying for the 
erection of a new royal colony, to obtain petitions from 
the people of the region around Lake Champlain, setting 
forth to the King and Privy Council that in order to re- 
store harmony in the disputed district, and to make 
more convenient the administration of justice in a de- 
partment extensive and remote from Albany, that a new 
colony should be set apart, of which Colonel Skene 
should be governor. Information to this effect was sent 
to the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys, but the out- 
break of the War of the Revolution put an end to the 
project for all time. Ira Allen says that had the scheme 
been carried through successfully, "the people who had 
settled under the royal grants of New Hampshire would 
have been quiet." 



A History of Lake Champlain 121 

A hint of this proposed colony is to be found in res- 
olutions adopted at Westminster, (Vt.,) April 11, 1775, 
by committees representing Cumberland and Gloucester 
counties, in the eastern part of what is now Vermont, in 
which a petition is formulated to the King, asking that 
they "be taken out of so oppressive a jurisdiction and 
either annexed to some other government, or erected and 
incorporated into a new one, as might appear best to the 
said inhabitants, to the royal wisdom and clemency, and 
till such time as His Majesty should settle the contro- 
versy." 

Colonel Skene, writing to Jehiel Hawley, of Arling- 
ton, tells of his appointment as "governor of Ticonder- 
oga and Crown Point." A little later Colonel Skene was 
destined to return to America, not to govern a royal 
province, but to be made a prisoner of war by people 
determined to do their own governing. 



122 A History of Lake Champlain 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 

The opening of the year 1775 saw the rapid devel- 
opment, at least in New England, of the idea that armed 
opposition to what was considered the intolerable op- 
pression of the Mother Country was likely to become a 
stern necessity, as well as a duty, in the near future. 
On Feb. 15 of that year the Massachusetts Congress 
adopted a resolution directing a committee to open cor- 
respondence with the Canadians and northern Indians, 
in the hope of keeping them neutral in the impending 
contest. 

John Brown, of Pittsfield, Mass., was chosen an 
agent to proceed to Canada on this business, and he was 
provided with the necessary letters and documents. He 
was ordered to "establish a reliable means of communi- 
cation through the Grants." Late in February he set 
out on his errand, going first to Albany, N. Y.., and thence 
to Lake Champlain. Brown secured as guides Peleg 
Sunderland, one of the active leaders of the Green Moun- 
tain Boys, a veteran hunter, acquainted with the St. 
Francis Indians and their language; also Winthrop 
Hoyt, for many years a captive in the Caughnawaga 
country. Brown found the journey exceedingly difficult. 
The ice in Lake Champlain had broken up early that 
year. The lake and its tributary streams were swollen, 
and much of the surrounding country was flooded. At- 
tempting to make the trip in a boat, the craft was 



A History of Lake Champlain 123 

driven against an island, where the party was frozen in 
for two days. The Indians and Canadians were reached, 
at last, and were found to be well disposed toward 
their New England neighbors. 

While at Montreal Brown wrote to Samuel Adams 
and Joseph Warren, of the Boston committee of corres- 
pondence, under date of March 24, in part as follows: 
"One thing I must mention to be kept a profound secret. 
The fort at Ticonderoga must be seized as soon as possi- 
ble, should hostilities be committed by the King's troops. 
The people on New Hampshire Grants have engaged to 
do this business, and, in my opinion, they are the most 
proper persons for the job. This will effectually curb 
this Province and all the troops that may be sent here." 
If the Green Mountain Boys had "engaged to do this 
business," the matter must have been discussed more 
than two months before the fortress was taken, probably 
at the time Sunderland was engaged as a guide. It was a 
natural thing that the first thoughts of the people of New 
England should turn, with the possibility of an armed 
conflict in mind, to Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Lake 
George, where not a few of them had received warlike 
training in a very practical military school. 

It is not possible definitely to say with absolute pre- 
cision of any man, or body of men, that he, or they, first 
suggested the capture of these fortresses. It was the ob- 
vious thing to do as a matter of safety, and must have 
occured to hundreds of people in this anxious period pre- 
ceding the actual outbreak of hostilities as a wise and 
prudent policy. But John Brown and his friends on the 
New Hampshire Grants appear to have as good a title as 
any to the distinction of being among the earliest to con- 
sider in serious fashion the capture of these British posts. 



124 A History of Lake Champlain 

Immediately after the battle of Lexington the prin- 
cipal officers of the Green Mountain Boys and the lead- 
ing citizens of the New Hampshire Grants met at Ben- 
nington to discuss the situation. The peril of the set- 
tlers in the valleys of the Otter Creek and Winooski 
was discussed, and it was agreed that unless Ticonder- 
oga and Crown Point were taken from the British, 
these posts would be reinforced and strengthened 
making necessary the abandonment of the isolated 
farms in the Champlain valley. 

"While these matters were deliberating," says Ethan 
Allen, in his Narrative, "a committee from theCouncilof 
Connecticut arrived at Bennington, with advice and di- 
rections to carry into execution the surprise of those gar- 
risons [Crown Point and Ticonderoga], and, if possible, 
to gain the command of the lake." 

On April 26 Capt. Benedict Arnold, of New Haven, 
Conn., met Col. Samuel H. Parsons, a member of the 
Connecticut Assembly, on the way from Massachusetts 
to Hartford, and told of the conditions existing at Ticon- 
deroga. The next day Colonel Parsons, Col. Samuel 
Wyllys, and Silas Deane, a member of the Continental 
Congress, taking as associates Thomas Mumford, Chris- 
topher Leffingwell, and Adam Babcock, met in Hartford 
to consider the possibility of the capture of the Lake 
Champlain fortresses. Having decided that the project 
was feasible, they obtained three hundred pounds from 
the colonial treasury upon promising to account for this 
sum to the satisfaction of the colony. 

The idea that the people on the New Hampshire 
Grants were the "most proper persons for this job" seems 
to have been the opinion of these Connecticut patriots, as 
well as that of John Brown, of Pittsfield. The sinews of 



A History of Lake Champlain 125 

war having been secured, Noah Phelps and Bernard Ro- 
mans, an engineer, were directed to proceed to the Grants 
and left on Friday, April 28. Capt. Edward Mott, Epaph- 
ras Bull, and four others followed the next day, and 
overtook Phelps and Romans at Salisbury, Conn., where 
the party was increased to sixteen and a quantity of pow- 
der and ball was purchased. At Sheffield, Mass., 
two men were sent to Albany, "to ascertain the temper 
of the people." Travelling all day Sunday, a practice 
not customary in those days, the Connecticut party ar- 
rived at Pittsfield on Monday, May 1. Here they were 
joined by Col. James Easton, an inn keeper, Captain 
Dickinson, and John Brown, whose^ recent Canadian 
trip made him a valuable associate. 

It had been thought best, in order that suspicion 
should not be aroused, to raise no considerable body of 
men umil the Grants were reached, but owing to the 
scarcity of provisions in that region, and the poverty of 
the Green Mountain settlers, upon the advice of 
Brown and Easton a few men — about forty — were 
raised in the hill country of the Berkshires. While these 
men were being enlisted, Heman Allen was sent for- 
ward to acquaint his brother Ethan with the project on 
foot. In passing it should be said that the claim some- 
times made to the effect that John Hancock and Sam- 
uel Adams were associated with the Connecticut leaders 
in organizing this expedition does not appear to be well 
founded, although it is probable that Adams was familiar 
with the'general plan. 

After raising a small party of recruits, Easton and 
Mott left Pittsfield or Bennington. On the way they 
met a courier riding in haste — an express, to use the 
phraseology current at that time — sent out to inform 



126 A History of Lake Champlain 

them that a man had arrived from Ti~onderoga who said 
that thr garrison at the fort had been reinforced, and the 
soldiers were on their guard, and advising against pro 
ceeding further with the expedition. Mott and Easton 
refused to abandon the expedition, the former declaring 
that with the 200 men they proposed to raise he would 
not be afraid "to go round the fort in open lignt," adding 
that the rumors of evil the messenger brought "would 
not do to go back with and tell in Hartford." At Ben- 
nington they found those of their party who had pre- 
ceded them unwilling to place any credence in the alarm- 
ing rumor concerning Ticondero^a v Mr. Halsey and Mr. 
Bull stoutly asserting that "they would go back for no 
story until they had seen the fort themselves." 

A council of war was summoned at the Catamount 
Tavern in Bennington, ramous as the favorite rendezvous 
of Ethan Allen and his associates The leader of the 
Green Mountain Boys needed no urging to undertake 
this task. It was an enterprise that appealed power- 
fully to his adventurous and patriotic nature; and no 
Scottish chieftain ever set out with greater ardor to as- 
semble his clansmen . than did Ethan Allen, as he started 
northward to summon the sturdy pioneers, who ac- 
knowledged his leadership. The Connecticut and Mas- 
sachusetts men, securing a small quantity of provisions, 
followed Allen to Castleton. 

Meanwhile Noah Phelps and Ezra Hickok had been 
sent to reconnoitre at Ticonderoga. Williams' History of 
Vermont says that Phelps disguised himself as one of the 
poor settlers living in the vicinity and went to the foit 
under pretence that he wanted to be shaved, inquiring 
for the^barber. His awkward appearance and simple 
questions made it possible fcr him to observe conditions 



A History of Lake Champlain 127 

and depart unmolested, according to this early historian. 
This story is also told in Thompson's "Vermont". 

Hinman's "Connecticut in the Revolution," how- 
ever tells a different tale. According to this account 
Phelps proceeded from the southern part of Lake Cham- 
plain in a boat, stopping for the night at a tavern near 
Fort Ticonderoga. He was assigned to a room next to 
one in which the officers of the garrison were giving a 
supper party, the festivities lasting until a late hour. 
The Connecticut spy, listening intently, heard the offi- 
cers discuss the unrest prevailing in the colonies, and the 
condition of the fortress. Very early the next morning 
Phelps gained admission to the fort for the purpose of be- 
ing shaved. While returning through the fort the com- 
manding officer walked with this traveller, and dis- 
cussed with him the movements and purposes of the re- 
bellious subjects of the King. Observing that a part of 
the wall was in a dilapidated condition Phelps remarked 
that it "would afford a feeble defense against the rebels 
in case of an attack." Captain Delapla:e volunteered 
the information that a breach in the walls was not the 
greatest misfortune, as all the powder was damaged, ^nd 
that before it cculd be used it was necessary to sift and 
dry it. 

Phelps, being ready to depart, employed a boatman 
to row him down the lake in a small boat, entering the 
craft under the guns of the fort. Before he had gone far 
he urged greater speed, and was asked to take an oar, 
but declined, saying he was not a boatman. However, 
after rounding a point of land, which sere* ned them from 
s'ght of the fort, Phelps took an oai without any invita- 
tion and rowed with such vigor that the boatman ex- 
claimed, with an oath, "You have seen a boat before now, 



128 A History^ of Lake Champlain 

sir." The suspicions of the man from the fort were 
aroused, but Phelps being the larger and more powerful 
of the two, prudence was consideted "the better part of 
valor," and no attempt was made to take the myster- 
ious stranger back to Ticcnderoga, all ot which was 
related by the boatman to Phelps after the surrender of 
the fort. 

This latter account makes no mention of any dis- 
guise, or any attempt to play the fool. The commanding 
officer evidently supposed that he was conversing with an 
intelligent and loyal British subject. It is by far the 
more plausible story of the two. In that time and place 
young men, whether wise or simple, were not in the habit 
of going to a barber to be shaved. If unable to shave 
themselves, some member of the family, or a neighbor, 
performed the service for them. 

Phelps arrived at Castleton the evening of May 9. 
No mention is made of Hickok in either story related, yj 

Almost immediately after the arrival of the Con- 
necticut and Massachusetts party at Bennington, the 
roads to Fort Edward, Lake George, Skenesborough, 
Ticonderoga, and Crown Point were guarded, and steps 
were taken to summon the Green Mountain Boys for the 
capture of the two forts. Among the messengers sent 
out by Allen to warn the men living on isolated farms 
that their presence at Castleton was urgently needed, 
was Maj. Gershom Beach, a blacksmith, and a prominent 
and active member of this band which ruled the Grants. 
In his "History of Shoreham" Goodhue says that "Beach 
went on foot to Rutland, Pittsford, Brandon, Middle- 
bury, Whiting, and Shoreham, making a circuit cf 
sixty miles in twenty-four hours." This is one of the re- 
markable episodes of the American Revolution, and one 



A History of Lake Champlain 129 

that never has received the publicity or the praise that it 
deserves. The ride of Paul Revere was a holiday excur- 
sion compared with the journey of Gershom Beach. 
Consider for a moment the nature of the task. Every 
step must be taken on foot, through a country practically 
without roads, an expanse of forest broken only at long 
intervals by a little clearing. The messenger must climb 
steep hills, thread his way through the valleys, avoid 
swamps, and cross unbridged streams. He must know 
where the scattered homesteads lay, make many a detour 
to reach them with no unnecessary loss of time, pausing 
to explain his errand. As night fell, still he must hold to 
a course not easily followed by daylight, and pause to 
arouse each family fiom sleep. 

A journey of sixty miles on foot in a single day, over 
good roads, with a summons to battle to deliver, would 
be considered a feat of which a modern athlete might 
boast; but it is an insignificant, performance when com- 
pared with the exploit of this early Revolutionary cour- 
ier. 

Mrs. Julia C. R. Dorr, the Vermont poet, has writ- 
ten of the journey of Beach in a poem entitled "The Ar- 
morer's Errand." She says of the hero: 

"Blacksmith and armorer stout was he, 
"First in the fight and first in the breach, 
"And first in the w^>rk where a man should be." 

Of the errand itself the poet writes: 

"He threaded the valleys, he climbed the hills, 
"He forded the rivers, he leaped the rills. 
"While still to his call, like minute men 
"Booted and spurred, from mount and glen, 
"The settlers rallied. But on he went 



130 A History of Lake Champlain 

"Like an arrow shot from a bow, unspent, 
"Down the long vale ot the Otter to where 
"The might of the waterfall thundered in air; 
"Then across to the lake, six leagues and more, 
"Where Hand's Cove lay in the bending shore, 
"The goal was reached. He dropped to the ground 
"In a deep ravine, without word or sound • 
"And sleep, the restorer, bade him rest 
"Like a weary child, on the earth's brown breast." 
Headquarters were established at the tavern of Za- 
dock Remington, in Castleton, on Sunday evening, May 
7. On Monday 1 70 men had gathered there. That day 
the Committee of War met at the farmhouse of Richard 
Bentley, Edward Mott acting as chairman, and formu- 
lated a plan of campaign. After debating various possi- 
ble methods of procedure, and considering the manner of 
retreat in the event of a repulse, it was voted that on the 
following afternoon, May 9, Capt. Samuel Hcrick, with 
thirty men, should be sent to Skenesborough to capture 
Major Skene, his party, and last, but by no means least, 
his boats, which should be brought during the night to 
Shoreham, for use in transporting troops to Ticonderoga. 
The remainder of the men at Castleton, then about 140, 
were to proceed to Shoreham to a point opposite the fort. 
Captain Douglass was sent to Crown Point to see if he 
could arrange, with the aid of his brother-in-law, who 
lived there, some strategem for renting the boats at the 
fort, belonging to the British army. It was also voted 
that Col. Ethan Allen should command the expedition 
against Ticonderoga, as the promise had been made by 
Mott that the men should serve under their own officers. 
Allen having received his orders from the committee, left 



A History of Lake Champlain 131 

for Shoreham to meet at Mr. Wessell's house, by agree- 
ment, some men who were to come there. 

The same evening there appeared at Castleton Col. 
Benedict Arnold, who had received from the Massachu- 
setts Committee of Safety, at Cambridge, May 3, au- 
thority to command a body of men to be raised in the west- 
ern part of the colony, not exceeding 400, for the purpose 
of capturing Ticonderoga. He was to have a sufficient 
armament and garrison to defend the. post, and take back 
to Massachusetts such stores and artillery as might be 
useful to the army. Arnold, however, did not stop to 
raise the 400 men authorized. There is a strong proba- 
bility that he heard of the expedition under Connecticut 
auspices, and, fearing that the fortresses would be taken 
without his aid, made haste to the rendezvous at Castle- 
tno. 

When Arnold arrived there he was accompanied 
only by a body servant. Without a soldier raised 
under his Massachusetts commission, he demanded that 
the command of the expedition be turned over to him, 
asserting that the force assembled had no proper orders. 
The pioneers who had assembled in haste for the serious 
business of capturing the King's forts were in no mood to 
yield to such a demand. Mott, chairman of the Com- 
mittee of War, at the time was a mile and a half away 
with the Skenesborough party, but was sent for, and on 
his arrival told the lone colonel that the soldiers assem- 
bled were raised on condition that they should be com- 
manded by their own officers, and the whole plan was 
explained to Arnold. Nevertheless, as Mott says, he 
"strenuously contended and insisted upon his right to 
command them and all their officers." 



132 A History of Lake Champlain 

■tjigL This demand created the greatest indignation among 
the volunteers, and they threatened to abandon the ex- 
pedition then and there and leave for their homes. This 
hasty action was prevented by the exertions of the offi- 
cers, and an incipient mutiny was quelled for a time. Still 
determined to have the honor of the chief command, Ar- 
nold set out the next morning to find Allen. The whole 
party followed fearing that their leader would yield to the 
demand that^he relinquish the command, but Allen de- 
clined to accede to the request. Allen and Easton as- 
sured the men that Arnold should not command them, 
but that in any event their pay should be the same. The 
response to this statement, according to Mott, was that 
"they would damn their pay, and say that they would 
not be commanded by any others but those they en- 
gaged with." 

Resuming the business of the expedition the party 
left Castleton, going by way of Sudbury to the old mili- 
tary road, built in Amherst's time from the Connecticut 
River to Lake Champlain. This route they followed 
through Whiting, and reached the lake shore at Hand's 
Cove, in Shoreham, about two miles north of Ticonder- 
oga, after dark on the evening of May 9. This route, 
about twenty-five miles long, was taken rather than the 
one through Benson, seven or eight miles shorter, be- 
cause there was less probability of discovery. More- 
over the place where they reached the shore was a wood- 
ed ravine, where they were concealed from view. 

According to Alien's account he now had "230 val- 
iant Green Mountain Boys," and it is known that thirty- 
nine or forty men had been raised in western Massachu- 
setts. Colonel Easton says there were about 240 men. 



A History of Lake Champlain 133 

There is a little uncertainty however, regarding the exact 
size of the force assembled. 

The great need now was boats. The effort to secure 
means of transportation by water had not been success- 
ful, and when Hand's Cove was reached no boats were in 
waiting. Captain Douglass had gone for a scow in Brid- 
port owned by a Mr. Smith. On his way he stopped at 
the home of a Mr. Stone, in Bridport, to secure the aid of 
a man named Chapman. The family had retired for the 
night, but were aroused. Two young men, James Wil- 
cox and Joseph Tyler, sleeping in a chamber, overheard 
the conversation and immediately decided to secure if 
possible, Major Skene's large rowboat off Willow Point, 
on the Smith farm, in the northwest part of Bridport, 
known to be in charge of a colored servant who had a 
fondness for "strong waters." Dressing hastily they 
took their guns and a jug of New England rum as bait 
for the Negro, and enlisting the aid of four companions 
they started on their errand. Arriving at the shore, they 
hailed the boat, telling the story of being on the way to 
join a hunting party at Shoreham. The jug of rum was 
exhibited and they offered to help in rowing the boat. 
The temptation proved sufficiently alluring, the boat was 
brought over, and Jack and his two companions pro- 
ceeded on their way with the passengers, only to find that 
the hunting party at Shoreham was the kind that made 
prisoners of war. About the same time Captain Doug- 
lass arrived with a scow, and a few small boats also had 
been collected. 

The number of boats assembled was very inadequate 
and morning was fast approaching. It was decided, 
therefore, to wait no longer, but to proceed with the 
means of transportation at hand. The impression gen- 



134 A History of Lake Champlain 

erally given is that one trip was made to carry those who 
captured the fort. Ira Allen declares, however, in his 
history that "by passing and repassing they got over 
about 80 men by the dawn of day." The exact number 
participating in the attack, according to Ethan Allen, 
was eighty-three. A landing was made about a half mile 
from the fort. 

Once more Arnold claimed the right to command. 
"What shall I do with the damned rascal, put him under 
guard?" exclaimed Allen, in exasperation. Amos 
Callender advised that the two men enter the fort side by 
side, and this course was agreed upon. William Gilli- 
land, founder of Westport, N. Y., has also asserted that 
he was the means of settling the dispute. 

Ethan Allen, however, was the commander, and the 
authority was not divided with Arnold, or any other man. 
James Easton was second in command, and Seth Warner 
who had been left behind at Hand's Cove, was the third 
officer in rank. 

The hour was now about 4 o'clock, and the day was 
breaking. The men were drawn up in three lines and, 
according to his own statement, Allen addressed his lit- 
tle band as follows: "Friends and fellow soldiers: You 
have for a number of years past been a scourge and terror 
to arbitrary powers. Your valor has been famed a- 
broad, and acknowledged, as appears by the advice and 
orders to me from the General Assembly of Connecticut 
to surprise and take garrison now before us. I now 
propose to advance before you, and, in person, conduct 
you through the wicket gate; for we must this morn- 
ing either quit our pretensions to valor, or possess our- 
selves of this fortress in a few minutes; and, inasmuch 
as it is a desperate attempt, which none but the brave- 



A History of Lake Champlain 135 

est of men dare undertake, I do not urge it on any contrary 
to his will. You that will undertake voluntarily, poise 
your firelocks. 

Every gun was raised, Nathan Beeman, a lad 
living opposite the fort, and familiar with all the sur- 
roundings, acted as guide. Facing to the right, with 
Allen at the head of the centre file, and Arnold by his 
side, the little force advanced to a wicket gate, which 
had been left open wide enough for two men to enter 
abreast. The men swarmed through rapidly, while 
some in their eagerness scaled the wall on either side 
of the gate. A sentinel posted at the wicket snapped 
his fusee at Allen, but the gun missed fire. Allen ran 
toward him and the soldier retreated hastily through 
the covered way into the parade, gave a shout, and ran 
under a bomb proof. The New England soldiers 
rushed in quickly, formed in a hollow square on the 
parade ground, and gave three hearty cheers, which 
some persons have described as Indian war whoops, 
thus arousing the sleeping garrison. 

A sentry made a pass at one of the officers with 
a bayonet, and inflicted a slight wound. Allen drew his 
sword to kill the soldier, but changed his mind, dealing 
a blow which cut the man on the side of the head, but did 
not wound him severely, whereupon the sentry dropped 
his gun and asked for mercy, which was granted. Al- 
len demanded of the frightened captive where the quar- 
ters of the commanding officer, Capt. William Delaplace, 
of His Majesty's Twenty-sixth regiment, were to be 
found. A stairway in front of the barracks on the west 
side of the garrison, leading to the second story, was 
pointed out. Allen ascended this stairway, and in a 
stentorian voice threatened to sacrifice the whole garri- 



1 36 A History of Lake Champlain 

son unless the captain came forth instantly. Thereupon 
the surprised commandant appeared at the head of the 
stairs clad in his shirt, with his breeches in one hand, 
Allen demanded that the fort be delivered instantly. 
The British captain asked by what .authority the sur- 
render of the fort was demanded, and the Green Mount- 
ain leader replied : "In the name of the Great Jehovah and 
the Continental Congress." "Damn it! What, what 
does this mean," stammered Delaplace, but Allen inter- 
rupted him, and with a drawn sword held over the head 
of the British officer called for an immediate surrender of 
the garrison. With the Americans already in possession 
there appeared to be no opportunity of successful resist- 
ance, and the fort was surrendered. 

While the parley between Allen and Delaplace was 
going on, acting under the orders of other officers, several 
of the barrack doors had been beaten down and about a 
third of the garrison were imprisoned. According to 
Colonel Easton's report there was "an inconsiderable 
skirmish with cutlasses or bayonets, in which a small 
number of the enemy received some wounds." All this 
was accomplished in ten minutes, without loss of life or 
the infliction of any serious wound. 

Thus, on the very morning that the Continental 
Congress was to assemble in Philadelphia, its authority 
was invoked by the leader of a band of men, most of 
whom acknowledged the authority of none of the thir- 
teen American colonies, to take possession of a fortress 
that bulked large in the minds of the people of two conti- 
nents. 

Allen says of this occasion: "The sun seemed to 
rise that morning with a superior lustre; and Ticonder- 
oga and all its dependencies smiled on its conquerors, who 



A History of Lake Champlain 137 

tossed about the flowing bowl, and wished success to 
Congress, and the liberty and freedom of America." 

Seth Warner and the remainder of the party left at 
Hand's Cove soon arrived, and joined in the general re- 
joicing. 

The captured troops included Captain Delaplace, 
Lieutenant Feltham, a conductor of artillery, a gunner, 
two sergeants, and forty-four rank and file, besides 
women and children. The officers captured at Ticon- 
deroga were sent to Connecticut in the charge of Messrs. 
Hickok, Halsey, and Nichols, reaching Hartford, May 16. 
The other prisoners reached the same place two days 
later in the charge of Epaphras Bull. 

The ammunition and stores captured at Ticonderoga 
included about 120 iron cannon, from 6 to 24-pounders, 
fifty swivels of different sizes, two ten inch mortars, one 
howit, one cohorn, two brass cannon, ten tons of musket 
balls, three cart loads of flints, thirty new carriages, a 
considerable quantity of shells, 100 stands of small arms, 
ten casks of poor powder, a warehouse full of materials 
for boat building, thirty barrels of floor, eighteen barrels 
of pork, and a quantity of beans and peas. One of the 
Ticonderoga cannon was known as "the Old Sow from 
Cape Breton" and probably was one of the prizes taken 
by the British at Louisbourg during the French and In- 
dian War. 

The first surrender of a British fortress, and of Brit- 
ish troops as prisoners of war, in the long struggle for 
American independence, including the first lowering of 
His Majesty's colors, was made to Ethan Allen and his 
Green Mountain Boys, and in the history of the military 
affairs of the United States the capture of Ticonderoga 
heads the list as the first important aggressive movement 



138 A History of Lake Champlain 

to be crowned with victory. It is true that Ticonderoga 
at this time was a fortress "of broken walls and gates," 
but it was by no means wholly indefensible. Had life 
insurance policies been in vogue in this region in 
the year 1775, the eighty-three men who proposed, under 
prevailing conditions, to capture Ticonderoga would not 
have been considered good risks. This fort was one of 
the great prizes for which France and Great Britain had 
contended, only a few years before, in a series of cam- 
paigns. In the public mind it represented the might and 
the power of Britain as surely as Gibraltar and Halifax 
represent the strength of the empire to-day. The news 
of its capture by a little band of untrained farmers was 
evidence to the Mother Country that the rebellion was, 
indeed, a serious matter. The tidings of Ethan Allen's 
victory cheered every patriot heart throughout the 
length and breadth of the American colonies, and its im- 
portance as an encouragement to those who sought to 
throw off the yoke of British oppression cannot be over- 
estimated. To the general public it seemed that if Ti- 
conderoga could be taken, all things were possible. 

The assertion is frequently made that Allen did not 
demand the surrender of Ticonderoga in the historic 
phrase, "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Con- 
tinental Congress," but rather in profane and vulgar lan- 
guage. All the trustworthy evidence, however, goes to 
show that the expression quoted actually was used. 
Allen gives the phrase in his Narrative, published at a 
time when the great majority of the men who partici- 
pated in the capture were living. It is given by his 
brother, Ira Allen, who was one of the Ticonderoga 
party, in a history written several years after Ethan's 
death. It is quoted by Williams in his History of 



A History of Lake Champlain 139 

Vermont, published while survivors of the Ticon- 
deroga expedition were still living. It is also given 
by Goodhue in his History of Shoreham, and an aged 
survivor of the immortal eighty-three told that author 
that Allen used the words "in the name of the Great Je- 
hovah and the Continental Congress." Certainly this 
is better evidence than can be adduced for any other 
version, and ought to satisfy all fair minded critics until 
an equal balance of testimony can be brought against it. 

Immediately after the capture of Ticonderoga John 
Brown was sent as an express to acquaint the Continental 
Congress that in the name of that body this British post 
had been captured. Just a week after the surrender by 
Delaplace, Brown arrived at Philadelphia with the rather 
startling information of the success which had attended 
Allen's expedition. Apparently Congress was not over- 
joyed at the news of this bloodless victory. Such an im- 
portant step as the capture of the King's fortress of Ti- 
conderoga almost took away the breath of the members, 
and they adopted resolutions, seeking to justify the act, 
by declaring that they had "indubitable evidence" of a 
design formed by the British government to invade this 
region, in which event the stores and cannon would have 
been used against the people of the colonies. It was di- 
rected that an inventory be taken of the articles cap- 
tured in order that, as the resolution reads," they may be 
safely returned when the restoration of the former har- 
mony between Great Britain and the colonies so ar- 
dently wished for by the latter, shall render it prudent 
and consistent with the overruling law of self preserva- 
tion." All of which indicates how little the majority of 
the members of Congress realized of the nature and ex- 
tent of the conflict upon which the colonies had entered. 



140 A History of Lake Champlain 

The first news of the capture of Ticonderoga to 
reach the British authorities at Boston was communi- 
cated to General Gage, commanding His Majesty's forces, 
by means of a letter written by Dr. Joseph Warren to 
John Scollay, dated at Watertown, Mass., May 17, a 
copy of which was procured by Gage and forwarded to 
Lord Dartmouth, at London. 

The capture of Ticonderoga was not the full measure 
of the American victory. As soon as Warner and his be- 
lated troops arrived at the fortress they expressed a de- 
sire for a share in the conquest. To Warner, therefore, 
was assigned the task of taking Crown Point, which was 
garrisoned by a sergeant and twelve men. In a report to 
the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, written May 11, 
Colonel Arnold tells of the return of a party which had 
started to take Crown Point, having met with head winds, 
and says the expedition was "entirely laid aside." This 
statement clearly is untrue, for the best evidence goes to 
show that on the morning of the very day on which this 
was written, May 11, Crown Point was taken. 

Allen had sent word to Capt. Remember Baker, who 
was at the Winooski River settlement, to bring his com- 
pany, and Warner and Baker arrived before Crown 
Point about the same time. Baker had met and cap- 
tured two small boats on the way to St. Johns to give no- 
tice of the capture of Ticonderoga. 

The date of the taking of Crown Point seems to be 
fixed beyond question, as May 11, by a report to Gov- 
ernor Trumbull, the Council, and General Assembly of 
Connecticut, dated at Crown Point May 12, and signed 
by Seth Warner and Peleg Sunderland, in which they say: 
"Yesterday we took possession of this garrison in the 
name of the country — we found great quantities of ord- 



A History of Lake Champlain 141 

nance, stores etc. — very little provision." The spoils at 
this fort included nearly 200 pieces of cannon, three mor- 
tars, sundry howitzers, fifty swivels, etc. 

Capt. Samuel Herrick, who had set out for Skenes- 
borough with about thirty men, before the capture of 
Ticonderoga was undertaken, reached that settlement in 
safety and captured Maj. Andrew Philip Skene, son of 
the would be Governor Skene, about fifty tenants, and 
twelve negroes, also a schooner which was rechristened 
the Liberty, and several boats. The care of the Skene 
estate was entrusted to Capt. Noah Lee, the first settler 
of Castleton. Captains Oswald and Brown, with fifty 
men enlisted under Colonel Arnold's authority, arrived 
at Skenesborough about this time, and joined Herrick's 
party, reaching Ticonderoga May 14. 

Amos Callender, of Shoreham, with a small party, 
captured Fort George, at the southern end of Lake 
George, without opposition, the fort being held by Cap- 
tain Nordberg of the Sixtieth regiment and a very slender 
garrison. 

The day following the capture of Ticonderoga Ethan 
Allen notified the Albany Committee of Safety, not 
hitherto counted among his friends and admirers, that 
he had taken the fortress. He warned them of the prob- 
ability that Governor Carleton of Canada would exert 
himself to retake the post and added: 'T expect imme- 
diate assistance from you, both in men and provisions. 
* * Y I am apprehensive of a sudden and quick attack. 
Pray be quick to our relief and send five hundred men 
immediately; fail not." Writing to the Massachusetts 
authorities the same day, he said: "I expect the colonies 
will maintain this fort." 



142 A History of Lake Champlain 

On May 12 Allen wrote to Governor Trumbull, of 
Connecticut, opening his letter with this statement: 
"I make you a present of a Major, a Captain, and two 
Lieutenants in the regular Establishment of George the 
Third." Then he proceeded to tell of the plan to seize 
the King's armed sloop, which was cruising on the lake, 
and added, "I expect lives must be lost in the attack, as 
the commander of George's sloop is a man of courage." 

A council of war was held, says Ethan Allen in his 
Narrative, and it was decided that Arnold should 
command the schooner ; captured at Skenesborough, 
while Allen should command the bateaux, in an effort to 
take the British sloop. On Sunday, May 13, the schooner 
sailed from Ticonderoga, but owing to contrary winds, 
Crown Point was not reached until Monday night, May 
14. Arnold, chafing under the delay, with thirty men 
embarked in a smaller boat and started for St. Johns, 
leaving the command of the schooner to Captain Sloan. 
While beating against the wind a mail boat from Mon- 
treal was seized, and an exact list of all the King's troops 
in the Northern department, amounting to 700, was 
captured. On Wednesday, with a good breeze, the 
schooner made better time, and overtook Arnold, who 
was taken on board. 

t; fjJWhen within thirty miles of St. Johns the wind 
fell and the vessel was becalmed. It was now 8 o'clock 
in the evening, and unwilling to wait for a sailing breeze 
Arnold ordered two small bateaux, manned by thirty- 
five armed men to be fitted out. By hard rowing all 
night St. Johns was reached at 6 o'clock Thursday 
morning. 

The party stopped about half a mile south of the 
town, concealing themselves in a small creek, and sent 



A History of Lake Champlain 143 

forward one of their number to reconnoitre. While 
waiting for an opportunity to fight British troops they 
fought great swarms of gnats and mosquitoes, and waited 
with impatience for their scout to return. When he 
arrived he brought the information that there was no 
suspicion of the approach of Arnold's party but that 
news had reached St. Johns of the capture of Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point. 

The party started at once for the fort and landed 
about sixty rods from the barracks, marching briskly 
upon the place. The small garrison retreated into the 
barracks, but surrendered without opposition. A ser- 
geant and twelve men were taken — one authority says 
fourteen prisoners were captured — together with their 
arms and some small stores, the King's sloop with a 
crew of seven men, two brass six-pounders, and four 
bateaux. Five bateaux were destroyed so that not a 
single boat was left at St. Johns for the use of the King's 
troops. 

At this time a fine breeze from the north sprang up 
and two hours after their arrival Arnold and his detach- 
ment were able to weigh anchor and start on the home- 
ward trip aboard the sloop which was re-christened the 
Enterprise. The captain of the King's sloop had gone 
to Montreal, and was expected every hour with a detach- 
ment for an expedition to Ticonderoga and with guns 
and carriages for the ship. At Fort Chambly, thirteen 
miles to the north, a captain and forty-nine men were 
stationed, and it was thought likely that they might 
reach St. Johns at any minute. Arnold, therefore, was 
moved to write to the Massachusetts Committee o 
Safety regarding his exploit, that "it seemed to be a 



144 A History of Lake Champlain 

mere interposition of Providence that we arrived at so 
fortunate an hour." 

A few miles south of St. Johns Arnold met Allen 
and his party, going north. There is much discrepancy 
regarding the size of Allen's force in accounts given by 
different authorities. In one report Arnold says that 
Allen had 150 men, while in a later one he 
reduces the number to 80 or 100. Ira Allen says the 
party consisted of 60 men, while an officer, whose name 
is not given, but who kept a diary of the expedition, 
says Allen had 90 men. The two parties saluted as they 
met, three volleys being fired. Allen and his companions 
went on board the sloop, where they drank "several 
loyal Congress healths." 

Allen was determined to proceed to St. Johns and 
hold the ground gained. Arnold considered this "a wild 
impracticable scheme", but as Allen persisted in advan- 
cing, he was supplied with provisions. Continuing north- 
ward, Allen encamped opposite St. Johns. The next 
morning he was attacked by 200 regular troops under 
Captain Anstruser, a discharge of grape shot being fired 
from six field pieces. Allen returned the fire, but finding 
that the British force was too large to resist with any 
hope of success he reembarked in haste, leaving three 
men behind. It was planned to lay an ambush for the 
enemy, but having been practically without rest for 
three days and nights, the men were so overcome by 
fatigue and sleep that it was necessary to abandon the 
idea. 

Arnold's party reached Crown Point May 18 and 
Ticonderoga, May 19. Allen and his men arrived at 
Ticonderoga on the evening of May 21. 



A History of Lake Champlain 145 

The captured British sloop was fitted with six can- 
non and ten swivels, and Major Skene's schooner with 
four guns and six swivels. 

The capture and destruction of the boats at St. 
Johns was an important military movement, for it de- 
layed any attempt to recapture the Lake Champlain 
fortresses, which were in no condition to withstand a 
serious attack for many months following their capture. 



146 A History of Lake Champlain 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE ALLEN-ARNOLD CONTROVERSY 

No account of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 
1775, and the events immediately following the surrender 
of that fortress, can be complete that ignores the con- 
troversy that arose between Ethan Allen and Benedict 
Arnold over the command of the troops and the post. 
Undoubtedly, for many years following the War for 
Independence, Arnold was not given the credit that 
was his due for the capacity and the courage that he 
displayed; nor is it strange that his traitorous conduct 
long blinded men to his deeds that deserve admiration. 
On the other hand, there has been a disposition on the 
part of some historians to belittle the part taken by 
Allen, and to exalt Arnold at the expense of the Green 
Mountain leader. This is particularly true regarding 
the capture of Ticonderoga, where an attempt is made 
to show that Arnold shared the command with Allen, 
and there is a broad hint that Arnold was more zealous 
than any other leader in the capture of the fortress. 

If any event of the American Revolution is well- 
authenticated, it is that Ethan Allen was the commander 
of the expedition that captured Ticonderoga, on May 
10,1775. It is proved by the official reports; by the testi- 
mony of those participating in the battle; by the 
newspaper accounts of the period; and last, but by no 
means least, by the statement of Captain Delaplace, the 



A History of Lake Champlain 147 

commandant of the captured fort, who was in a position 
to know with certainty the identity of the officer to whom 
he surrendered. 

Arnold's efforts to secure the command, begun at 
Castleton, and renewed before the attack upon the fort- 
ress, again were manifested soon after Ticonderoga was 
taken. He challenged Allen's authority to command, 
and insisted that the chief position was his by right. 
This demand angered the soldiers to such a degree that 
they paraded, "and declared that they would go right 
home, for they would not be commanded by Arnold," 
according to the testimony of an eye witness. The men 
were pacified by a promise that there should be no change 
in commanders, Arnold being informed that as he had 
raised no men he could not expect to command those 
raised by other officers. This was before the arrival of 
the Massachusetts men who came with Captain Herrick 
by way of Skenesborough. As Arnold insisted that he 
was the only officer having "legal orders to show," Ed- 
ward Mott, chairman of the .Committee of War for this 
expedition, wrote an order directing Ethan Allen to keep 
(not take) the command of the garrison of Ticonderoga 
and its dependencies until he received further orders 
from the colony of Connecticut or the Continental 
Congress. 

Arnold's regimental memorandum book shows that 
he felt much chagrin at his failure to secure the command. 

On May 11 Allen reported the capture of the fort to 
the Massachusetts Congress, signing his name as "Com- 
mander of Ticonderoga." Writing to Governor Trum- 
bull, of Connecticut, on May 12, he signed the commun- 
ication as "at present commander of Ticonderoga." Did 
he, at this time, consider his tenure of office insecure? 



148 A History of Lake Champlain 

Capt. Elisha Phelps, commissary of the Ticonderoga 
expedition, a brother of Capt. Noah Phelps, writing to 
the Connecticut legislature, May 16, reported "a great 
quarrel with Col. Arnold who shall command the Fort, 
even that some of the soldiers threaten the life of Col. 
Arnold." 

Barnabas Deane, in a letter written to his brother 
Silas, June 1, tells of a recent visit to Crown Point, where 
he found "a very critical situation," owing to the dif- 
ferences between Allen and Arnold, "which had risen to 
a great height." He said that "Col. Allen is cooled down 
some since his unsuccessful attempt at St. Johns." Mr. 
Deane declared that he and Colonel Webb, who accom- 
panied him, "had an arduous task to reconcile matters 
between the two commanders at Crown Point, which 
T hope is settled for the present. Col. Allen made a pub- 
lic declaration that he would take no command on 
himself but give it up entirely to Col. Arnold until 
matters were regulated and an officer appointed to take 
command." 

Deane reported that Arnold had been fired upon 
twice, and that a musket had been presented at his breast 
by one of the opposition party, with a threat to "fire him 
through" if he refused to comply with orders given. It 
was represented that some of the Connecticut people 
were hostile to Arnold, whom Deane praised highly, say- 
ing that had it not been for him "no man's person would 
be safe that was not of the Green Mountain party." He 
fails to add that there would have been no "Green Moun- 
tain party" had it not been for Arnold's consuming am- 
bition to command an expedition which other men had 
raised and financed. Deane appears to have been strong- 
ly prejudiced against Allen and his associates, and he in- 



A History of Lake Champlain 149 

timated in his letter that "their design appears to me to 
hold those places [the forts] as a security to their lands 
against any that may oppose them." Subsequent events 
proved this ridiculous charge to be baseless. 

On May 14 Arnold wrote to the Massachusetts 
Committee of Safety: "Mr. Allen's party is decreasing, 
and the dispute between us is subsiding." It is probable 
that many of the Green Mountain Boys left the fort soon 
after its capture. They had responded to an emergency 
call, leaving their families unprotected. It was the sea- 
son for plowing and planting, and the extreme poverty of 
the people, to which allusion already has been made, was 
an urgent reason why the volunteers should leave the 
camp for the farm at the earliest possible moment in or- 
der that the raising of crops might not be delayed. 

In writing to the Albany Committee of Safety from 
Ticonderoga , on May 22, Arnold signed himself as com- 
mander, and in a letter written the following day he used 
the title of commander-in-chief. It is significant that 

in a letter written at Crown Point, May 26, to the Con- 
necticut General Assembly, dealing with a missive sent 
to the Indians by a council of officers, Allen signed him- 
self simply, "Colonel of the Green Mountain Boys." Ar- 
nold was also at Crown Point that day, and was issuing 
orders. 

Writing to the Continental Congress from Crown 
Point, May 29, Arnold says: "Some dispute arising be- 
tween Col. Allen and myself prevented my carrying my 
order into execution until the 16th." In a letter written 
the same day to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, 
he says: "Colonel Allen has entirely given up command." 
Allen was at Crown Point on May 29, as a letter written 
that day to the Continental Congress shows. 



150 A History of Lake Champlain 

As early as May 27 the Massachusetts Congress 
alluded to fears expressed by Arnold that attempts were 
being made to injure his character, and he was informed 
that he would have an opportunity to vindicate his con- 
duct. On June 1 the Massachusetts Congress expressed 
regret that Arnold should make repeated requests that a 
successor should be appointed, assured him that that 
body had the greatest confidence in his "fidelity, know- 
ledge, courage, and good conduct," and advised him "at 
present" to dismiss the thought of giving up the com- 
mand of the Massachusetts forces on Lake Champlain. 

On June 4, Allen, with Colonel Easton, wrote a letter 
to the Canadians from Ticonderoga and signed himself 
"at present the principal commander of this army." 
This may have been simply a determination on the part 
of Allen to make at least a show of reasserting his right to 
command; or it may have been due to a weakening of 
Arnold's authority, soon to be entirely overthrown. 
About a week later, on the tenth day of June, eighteen 
officers at Crown Point, fncLuding Colonel Easton, Maj. 
Samuel Elmer, of Connecticut, Seth Warner, Remember 
Baker, Ira Allen, and others, united in an address to the 
Continental Congress regarding affairs, and named 
Ethan Allen, Warner, and Baker a committee to consult 
with Congress. The document concludes as follows: 

"Colonel Allen has behaved in this affair [referring 
presumably to the capture of Ticonderoga] very singu- 
larly remarkable for his courage and must in duty recom- 
mend him to you and to the whole Continent." This 
address would seem to indicate that Allen had a consider- 
able following at that time among the officers at the 
Lake Champlain forts. 



A History of Lake Champlain 151 

Arnold wrote to the Continental Congress from 
Crown Point on June 13, signing himself as commanding 
officer. In his letter he discussed a proposed Canadian 
expedition, and added parenthetically and significantly, 
"no Green Mountain Boys." 

The Massachusetts Congress, on June 14, appointed 
a committee consisting of Walter Spooner, Jedediah Fos- 
ter, and James Sullivan, to investigate conditions at 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, including Arnold's con- 
duct. This committee was given power to discharge 
Arnold if, in their judgment, it was proper to do so. Evi- 
dently charges of a serious nature had been brought 
against Arnold to warrant an investigation of his conduct 
with power given to the committee to discharge him. 
The provincial Congress had sent Col. Joseph Henshaw 
to Hartford instructing him, in the event that Connecti- 
cut had arranged for garrisoning Ticonderoga, to go to 
the fort, with orders for Arnold to return to Massachu- 
setts, settle his account, and be discharged. Colonel 
Henshaw learned that Connecticut had sent Colonel 
Hinman with a thousand men to hold Ticonderoga until 
New York was ready to relieve him. Henshaw did not 
go to Ticonderoga himself, however, but sent a letter 
acquainting Arnold with the turn events had taken. 

When Hinman arrived at Ticonderoga Arnold re- 
fused to recognize the Connecticut colonel as his su- 
perior officer. Instead, he transferred the command of 
Ticonderoga to Captain Herrick, from whom Hinman's 
men were obliged to take orders. If they refused to sub- 
mit they were not permitted to pass to and from the 
garrison. Such was the condition of affairs which the 
Massachusetts investigators found upon their arrival at 
Lake Champlain. The committee reported, as a result 



152 A History of Lake Champlain 

of their investigations, that a mutiny arose among some 
of Arnold's men, "which seemed to be attended with 
dangerous symptoms"; but they were able, with the aid 
of Judge Duer, of Charlotte county, to quell it. 

Edward Mott, chairman of the Committee of War 
which made the plans for the capture of Ticonderoga, 
wrote Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, at some 
length regarding this incident. According to his account 
the Massachusetts committee went to Crown Point with 
orders that Arnold should turn over the command to 
Colonel Hinman, which he positively refused to do. The 
committee thereupon discharged Arnold from the service. 
The refusal to yield the command to Hinman is corrobo- 
rated by the committee's report to the provincial Con- 
gress, which says: "Your Committee informed the said 
Arnold of their commission, and, at his request, gave him 
a copy of their instructions; upon reading of which he 
seemed greatly disconcerted, and declared he would not 
be second in command to any person whomsoever." 

Mott further reported that the committee were re- 
fused the privilege of speaking to Arnold's soldiers; that 
Arnold and some of his men went on board the vessels, 
threatening to go to St. Johns and deliver the boats to 
the British; that Arnold disbanded all his troops but 
those on the vessels; that those who tried to communicate 
with Arnold were ill treated, being fired upon with a 
swivel gun and small arms after they came away from 
the vessels in a bateau. Later, Mott secured permission 
from Colonel Hinman to make an attempt to settle the 
difficulty. Colonel Sullivan, of the Massachusetts com- 
mittee, Lieutenant Halsey, Judge Duer, Mott, and a 
party of men to row the boat, proceeded to Arnold's 
vessels, as Mott tells the story, reaching there at 11 



A History of Lake Champlain 153 

o'clock in the forenoon. On going aboard they were 
treated like prisoners, being guarded until evening by 
men with fixed bayonets. It is recorded that Colonel 
Sullivan "was much insulted while we were on board the 
vessels, chiefly by Mr. Brown, one of Colonel Arnold's 
captains." After being released, a report of the indigni- 
ties inflicted was made to Colonel Hinman, who ordered 
Lieutenant Halsey with twenty-five men to return to 
the vessels, get what men he could to join him, and bring 
one or more vessels to the fort. The next day the matter 
was settled. 

Arnold resigned his command on June 24. In his 
letter of resignation he said that the action of the pro- 
vincial Congress in dealing with him was a most dis- 
graceful reflection on him and the body of troops he com- 
manded. Soon after his resignation he returned to New 
Haven, Conn. 

It is not strange that Gen. Philip Schuyler was 
moved, on July 11, to write the Continental Congress 
concerning this affair as follows: "The unhappy contro- 
versy which has subsisted between the officers at Ticon- 
deroga relative to the command has, I am informed, 
thrown everything into vast confusion. Troops have 
been dismissed, others refuse to serve if this or that man 
command. The sloop is without either captain or pilot, 
both of which are dismissed or come away. I shall hurry 
up there much sooner than the necessary preparations 
would otherwise permit, that I may attempt discipline 
amongst them." 

From such information as may be obtained it would 
appear that Arnold did most of the commanding at both' 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point after the first few days 
following the capture, until the Massachusetts com- 



154 A History of Lake Champlain 

mittee appeared, refitting the captured boats, repairing 
barracks, sending one party to the mouth of the Winoos- 
ki River, and another toward St. Johns. In all of Allen's 
correspondence he appears to have made no attack upon 
Arnold; but as much cannot be said for Arnold, whose 
letters refer in uncomplimentary terms to Allen and his 
Green Mountain Boys, as illustrated by the remark in a 
letter to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety that 
"Colonel Allen is a proper man to head his own wild 
people, but entirely unacquainted with military service." 
There is much to admire in the dashing bravery and 
undoubted capacity shown by Benedict Arnold later in 
this war. It is also true that his capture of the sloop at 
St. Johns displayed skill and courage, and his conduct of 
affairs at the Champlain forts during parts of May and 
June showed activity and ability of no mean order; but 
the Ticonderoga chapter of Arnold's career, taken as 
a whole, is a discreditable one. History is able to give, 
and will give, the man his just due for his brilliant ex- 
ploits at Quebec, in the naval battle on Lake Champlain, 
and at Saratoga, without the necessity of attempting to 
rob Ethan Allen of his well-earned laurels or to defame 
the memory of the sturdy pioneers who rallied to the 
standard of the Green Mountain leader in the early days 
of May, 1775. The history of the Ticonderoga expedi- 
tion shows Arnold's inordinate ambition; his desire to 
secure the chief command, and the greatest glory, no 
matter how irregular might be the means employed; a 
disposition to bear false witness against his rivals in his 
letters and reports; and insubordination when deprived 
of power that foreshadowed his traitorous conduct at 
West Point at a later day. These qualities of the man 
cannot be excused or ignored unless one prefers to offer 



A History of Lake Champlain 155 

an attorney's brief for Arnold, rather than to present 
historical facts in an impartial manner. 

With the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 
military operations on Lake Champlain practically were 
at a standstill for several months. Soon after 
the news of the taking of these forts was received, the 
Continental Congress "earnestly recommended" the re- 
moval of the military stores and ordnance to a post to be 
established at the southern end of Lake George. This 
was a proposition showing such an amazing lack of mili- 
tary foresight, and one that aroused such a storm of pro- 
test throughout New England, that it deserves more than 
passing notice; for it shows very clearly what the people 
of that region, at that time, thought of the strategic im- 
portance of Lake Champlain and its fortresses. 

As early as May 27, 1775, the Massachusetts Congress 
informed the Continental Congress that "if that post 
[Ticonderoga] is abandoned the whole of Lake Cham- 
plain will be abandoned to Canada, and the command of 
that water will amazingly facilitate all such descents 
upon these colonies, whether greater or less, which Ad- 
ministration shall see fit to order. But if that post should 
be held by the Colonies, all such attempts for the de- 
struction of the Colonies may be vastly obstructed, if 
not wholly defeated." 

On May 29 the Massachusetts Congress sent a letter 
to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, dealing with the 
proposed abandonment of the Champlain forts, which 
read in part, as follows: "We cannot conceal from the 
General Assembly of your colony that we should be to 
the last degree agitated if we really supposed that the 
said resolution of the General Congress touching Ticon- 
deroga and said posts on Lake Champlain, was their ulti- 



156 A History of Lake Champlain 

matum, and that they would not reconsider that reso- 
lution. * * * 

"The maintaining that post is not only practicable 
and, under God, in the power of the colonies, but of 
inexpressible necessity for the defence of the Colony of 
New York and all the New England colonies. * * * 
In theview of a post of observation, we beg leave to observe 
that all movements from Canada, intended against New 
England or New York, by the way of Lake Champlain 
whether by scalping parties or large bodies, whether in 
the winter or open seasons of the year, may almost cer- 
tainly be discovered so seasonably as that the blow may 
be generally warded off; whereas, if the post at William 
Henry be the only one kept, it is probable that three- 
fourths of the attempts on the frontier of New York and 
New England by Champlain will never be known until 
executed. * * * If we abandon the post at Ticonderoga 
the enemy will infallibly seize it; and in that case, what 
annoyance can we give Canada by the way of Champlain 
by means of a fortified post at William Henry? * * * We 
beg leave just to hint that a fortified station on the 
easterly side of South Bay, on Lake Champlain, opposite 
to Ticonderoga or Crown Point, or still further on, 
affords great advantage for the maintaining of Ticon- 
deroga, and defending the settlements on the easterly 
side of Lake Champlain, and there is artillery enough to 
spare to other places; and if we abandon the land be- 
tween the Lakes George and Champlain we shall give the 
enemy an opportunity to build at or near the points; and 
by that means we shall lose the whole of Lake Champlain, 
and the shipping we now have on that lake, by which we 
can command the whole of it and keep the enemy at a 
distance of a hundred miles from our English settlements 



A History of Lake Champlain 157 

near Otter Creek, etc.; but if that fortress should be 
maintained we shall have those very settlements to sup- 
port it, which will not be half the charge that it would be 
to maintain a sufficient number of soldiers so far from 
their homes. We have there four or five hundred hardy 
men with families, who, if those grounds should be aban- 
doned, will be driven from their settlements and leave 
the Massachusetts and New Hampshire people naked, 
without any barrier, and exposed to the Canadians and 
savages, who will have a place of retreat at the point as 
they had almost the whole of the last war. By abandon- 
ing this ground we give up an acquisition which cost im- 
mense sums of money, the loss of many lives, and five 
campaigns. 

"As to the expense of maintaining a fortress at Ti- 
conderoga, this colony will not fail to exert themselves 
to the utmost of their power." 

The Massachusetts committee sent to investigate 
affairs at Ticonderoga and Crown Point during the Allen- 
Arnold controversy informed Governor Trumbull, of 
Connecticut, that in their opinion "the abandoning the 
posts on Lake Champlain would probably prove the Utter 
ruin of the New England Governments." 

A letter from the New Hampshire Congress to the 
Contintental Congress, dated June 2, says: "A late order 
of your respectable Congress for the demolition of the 
fortress of Ticonderoga, and removal of the artillery from 
thence, has very much damped the expectation of the 
people in this colony, arising from the security our fron- 
tiers hoped to receive by the check the Canadians and 
savages might receive in any incursion on us by a good 
garrison there. * * * Our new settlements extended 
on Connecticut River for a hundred miles, are very de- 



158 A History of Lake Champlain 

fenceless in every respect, and under terrible apprehen- 
sions from the accounts of the warlike preparations 
making in Canada against the colony." The letter then 
asks that the order be reviewed and countermanded. 
The New York Congress was informed of the request 
made, and the statement is made that "we esteem that 
fortress [Ticonderoga] to be a place truly important to 
the welfare of all these Northern Colonies in general and 
to this Colony in particular." 

Naturally Ethan Allen was greatly disturbed by the 
suggestion that the post which he and his men had taken 
should be abandoned, and on May 29 he wrote the Con- 
tinental Congress on this subject, saying: "I am * * * 
much surprised that your Honours should recommend it 
to me to remove the artillery to the south end of Lake 
George, and there to make a stand ; the consequences of 
which must ruin the frontier settlements, which are ex- 
tended at least one hundred miles to the northwest from 
that place. Probably your Honours were not informed of 
those settlements which consist of several thousand fam- 
ilies who are seated in that tract of country called the 
New Hampshire Grants. 

"The misfortune and real injury to those inhabitants 
by making the south end of Lake George the northern- 
most point of protection will more fully appear from the 
following consideration, namely: It was at the special 
request and solicitation of the Governments of the Prov- 
ince of the Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut that 
those very inhabitants put their lives into the hand of 
their Governments, and made those valuable acquisi- 
tions for the Colonies. By doing it they have incensed 
Governor Carleton and all the ministerial party in Can- 
ada against them; and provided they should, after all 



A History of Lake Champlain 159 

their good service in behalf of their Country, be neglected 
and left exposed, they will be of all men most consum- 
mately miserable." 

Allen proceeded to point out the immense advantage 
the possession of the lake would give if an aggressive 
Canadian policy were pursued, thus "forming the frontier 
near the country of the enemy." 

Benedict Arnold also addressed the Continental 
Congress on this important subject, in a letter dated 
May 29, in which he said: "I must beg leave to observe, 
gentlemen, that the reports of Ticonderoga's being aban- 
doned have thrown the inhabitants here into the greatest 
consternation. There are about five hundred families 
to the northward of Ticonderoga, who, if it is evacuated, 
will be left at the mercy of the King's Troops and In- 
dians, and who have, part of them, joined the Army, and 
cannot now remain neuter, to whom a remove would be 
entire ruin, as they have large families and no depen- 
dence but a promising crop in the ground. I need not 
add to this, gentlemen, that Ticonderoga is the key of 
this extensive country, and if abandoned, leaves a very 
extensive frontier open to the ravages of the enemy, and 
to continued alarms, which will probably cost more than 
the expense of repairing and garrisoning it." 

Perhaps the most vigorous of all the protests against 
abandoning Ticonderoga was made by Joseph Hawley, 
called the "Nestor of the Massachusetts patriots," who, 
writing to Joseph Warren from Northampton, June 9, 
said: "I heartily wish that every member of our Con- 
gress, yea, every inhabitant of the Province, had a true 
idea of the infinite importance and consequence of that 
station [Ticonderoga]. If Britain, while they are in hos- 
tility against New England, hold that post, they will by 



160 A History of Lake Champlain 

means thereof be able to do more to vanquish and sub- 
due us from that quarter than they will be able to do in 
all other parts of the Continent; yea, more than they 
could do in all other parts of the globe. If Britain should 
regain and hold that place they will be able soon to harass 
and waste by the savages, all the borders of New Eng- 
land eastward of Hudson River and southwest of Lake 
Champlain, and the River St. Lawrence, and shortly, by 
the Lake Champlain, to march an army to Hudson's 
River to subdue the feeble and sluggish efforts of the 
inhabitants on that river, and so connect Montreal and 
New York; and then New England will be wholly en- 
vironed by sea and land, east, west, north and south. 
The chain of the Colonies will be irreparably broken ; the 
whole Province of New York will be fully taken into the 
interest of the Administration; and this very pass of 
Ticonderoga is the post and spot where all this mischief 
may be withstood and arrested ; but if that is relinquished 
or taken from us, destruction must come in upon us like 
a flood. 

"I am bold to say (for I can maintain it) that the 
General Congress would have not advised to so destruc- 
tive a measure if they had recommended and prescribed 
that our whole Army, which now invests Boston should 
instantly decamp, and march with all the baggage and 
artillery to Worcester, and suffer Gage's army to ravage 
what part of the country they pleased. Good God: what 
could be their plan. If they intend defence, they must 
be unacquainted with the geography of the country, or 
never adverted to the matter. The design of seizing that 
post was gloriously conceived ; but to what purpose did 
our forces light there, if they are now to fly away from 
there. Certainly to no good purpose, but to very bad and 



A History of Lake Champlain 161 

destructive purposes; for by this step General Carleton 
is alarmed. Whereas if the step had not been taken, his 
proceedings might have been slow and with some leisure; 
but now, if he is worthy of command, he will exert him- 
self to the utmost and proceed with dispatch. If we 
maintain the post, the measure of taking it was glorious. 
If we abandon it, the step will turn out to have been a 
destructive one." 

Congress heeding the protests that were made, de- 
cided to maintain the post at Ticonderoga, overwhelming 
evidence of its importance being furnished from many 
sources. 

In November, 1775, the task of transporting to 
Boston, for use in the siege of that town, some of the 
cannon captured at Ticonderoga, was assigned to Col. 
Henry Knox. The American army before Boston lacked 
the heavy ordnance needed and no foundries for making 
cannon were available. Late in November Washington 
wrote General Schuyler that he was in very great need 
of powder, lead, mortars, cannon, and nearly all kinds of 
artillery stores, and urged that all that could be spared 
from Ticonderoga be sent to him at Boston 

On Nov. 27, Knox, who was at New York, 
wrote to Washington "I shall set out by land tomorrow 
morning for Ticonderoga, and proceed with the utmost 
dispatch, as knowing our whole dependence for cannon 
will be from that post." Knox caused forty-twc 'ex- 
ceedingly strong" sleds to be made, and with eighty yoke 
of oxen the guns were taken to Lake George, and thence 
to Albany. While crossing the Hudson River on the ice, 
one of the cannon fell into the stream, but it wa- re- 
covered the next day with the assistance of the people 
of Albany. The route followed was by way of Great 



162 A History of Lake Champlain 

Barnngton, Mass. and Springfield, to Boston. At the 
end of ten weeks Knox reached Boston with fifty-five 
cannon, and received the congratulations of General 
Washington. 

An interesting incident of this expedition was the 
meeting on a stormy winter night, in a little cabin on the 
shore of Lake George, between Knox and a young British 
officer who had been taken prisoner at St. Johns. He was 
being taken to Lancaster, Pa., to be held for exchange, 
and by chance on this night shared, not only the same 
cabin, but the same bed with Knox. This British captive 
was John Andre. Had Knox been permitted to read 
what the future held in store for himself and his com- 
panion, he would have learned that later in this war just 
begun, there would fall to his lot the sad duty of sitting 
as one of the judges at a court martial, and condemning 
to death as a spy, implicated in Arnold's treason, this 
charming young officer whose conversation he found so 
enioyable. 

Thus it will be seen that the capture of the post of 
Ticonderoga made it possible to supply Washington with 
the artillery so necessary for conducting a successful 
siege. Without the guns from Ticonderoga it is at least 
possible that the British would not have been driven 
from Boston. Had Washington failed in this enterprise, 
perhaps the American Revolution would have been sim- 
ply an American rebellion. But that is one of the "ifs"" 
of history- 



A History of Lake Champlain 163 

CHAPTER IX 
THE INVASION OF CANADA. 

The idea of invading Canada followed, almost im- 
mediately, the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 

When Ethan Allen made his first journey to St. 
Johns, after the capture of the King's sloop by Arnold, 
on May 18, he forwarded a letter directed to "Mr. James 
Morrison and the merchants that are friendly to the 
cause of liberty in Montreal," asking for assistance and 
cooperation. He requested that they send to him at St. 
Johns, "forthwith and without further notice," provi- 
sions, ammunition, and spirituous liquors to the amount 
of five hundred pounds. 

In Allen's letter to the Continental Congress, writ- 
ten May 29, he declared that if he had had 500 men with 
him at St. Johns he could have advanced to Montreal. 
He added: "Nothing strengthens our friends in Canada 
equal to our prosperity in taking the sovereignty of Lake 
Champlain; and should the colonies forthwith send an 
army of two or three thousand men, and attack Montreal 
we should have little to fear from the Canadians or In- 
dians, and would easily set up the standard of liberty in 
the extensive Province of Quebeck, whose limit was en- 
larged purely to subvert the liberties of America. Strik- 
ing such a blow would intimidate the Tory party in 
Canada the same as thecommencement of the war at Boston 
intimidated the Tories in the colonies. They are a set of 
gentlemen that will not be converted by reason but are 



164 A History of Lake Champlain 

easily wrought upon by fear. Advancing an army into 
Canada will be agreeable to our friends; and it is bad 
policy to fear the resentment of an enemy." 

Congress was unwilling at this time to authorize 
such an aggressive act as the invasion of Canada. Sub- 
sequent events showed that Allen was right in urging 
an immediate invasion of the province as a prudent 
military movement. The British force under Carleton's 
command at that time was small, and had Allen's advice 
been followed it is probable that Canada could have been 
captured with comparative ease. 

Allen wrote to the New York Congress on June 2: 
"I will lay my life on it that with fifteen hundred men 
and a proper train of artillery, I will take Montreal. 
Provided I could be thus furnished, and if an army could 
command the field, it would be no insuperable difficulty 
to take Quebeck." At this period the Canadians were in- 
clined to be friendly to the Americans, and Carleton ex- 
perienced great difficulty in enlisting men for his army. 

William Gilliland, of Westport, N. Y., writing to 
the Continental Congress on May 29, called attention 
to a British post at Point au Per, on the west side of the 
lake, seven miles south of the Canadian boundary line, 
where a large stone house was built during the summer 
of 1774. There were strong ball proof brick sentry boxes 
at each corner commanding every inch of ground about 
the house. In these sentry boxes, and in the large, dry 
cellar under the house, were forty-four portholes. Gilli- 
land urged that by throwing up a breastwork around the 
stone house and providing a few cannon for defence, it 
might be used with great effect as a fortification to check 
any British advance up the lake. He added: "I must beg 
leave to observe to you that there are now in these parts 



A History of Lake Champlain 165 

a very considerable number of men under the command 
of Mr. Ethan Allen, as brave as Hercules, and as good 
marksmen as can be found in North America, who might 
prove immediately serviceable to the common cause were 
they regularly embodied and commanded by officers of 
their own choice, subordinate to whoever has or may be 
appointed commander-in-chief or to the instructions of 
the Grand Congress. These men, being excellent wood 
rangers, and particularly acquainted in the wilderness of 
Lake Champlain, would, in all likelihood, be more ser- 
viceable in these parts than treble their number of others 
not having these advantages, especially if left under the 
directions of their present enterprising and heroic com- 
mander, Mr. Allen." 

President John Hancock of the Continental Con- 
gress wrote to the New York Congress, on June 24, 1775, 
regarding the employment of the Green Mountain Boys 
in the service, an expression of opinion, which, to be 
understood, should be read with the thought in mind 
that a border warfare had been waged for several 
years between this band and the New York provincial 
government, their leaders having been declared outlaws. 
In this letter Hancock said: "The Congress are of the 
opinion that the employing of the Green Mountain Boys 
in the American Army would be advantageous to the 
common cause, as well on account of their situation as of 
their disposition and alertness, they are desirous you 
should embody them among the Troops you shall 
raise." Subsequently a regiment was raised on the New 
Hampshire Grants, of which Seth Warner was chosen 
commander over Ethan Allen. 

Naturally Allen was disappointed, as he had been 
the leader of the Green Mountain Boys from the begin- 



166 A History of Lake Champlain 

ning of the controversy with New York over the lands 
on the New Hampshire Grants, and the dispatches of 
that period refer to a sharp controversy between Allen 
and Warner. In a letter to Governor Trumbull, of Con- 
necticut, the hero of Ticonderoga alludes to his diasap- 
pointment as follows: "Notwithstanding my zeal and 
success in my Country's cause, the old farmers on the 
New Hampshire Grants, who do not incline to go to war, 
have met in a committee meeting and in their nomina- 
tion of officers for the Regiment of Green Mountain Boys 
who are quickly to be raised, have wholly omitted me: 
but as the commissions will come from the Continental 
Congress, I hope they will remember me, as I desire to 
remain in the service." 

Colonel Hinman, in command at Ticonderoga, was 
not an efficient or forceful officer. The Massachusetts 
committee, at the time of their visit to the forts, had 
appointed Colonel Easton as commander of their pro- 
vincial troops at Lake Champlain, under Hinman. John 
Brown was designated as major, and Jonas Fay, as sur- 
geon. General Schuyler was directed, by order of Con- 
gress, to assume command of the district including Ti- 
conderoga and Crown Point, and when he arrived at the 
lake on July 18 he was greatly distressed over conditions 
existing there. Provisions were short and Schuyler con- 
sidered that there had been "a very considerable waste 
or embezzlement. 

On the very day of Schuyler's arrival at Ticonderoga 
he wrote Washington in disgust, and almost in derision, 
of what he considered Hinman's incompetence. The Con- 
necticut colonel evidently had simply waited for the ar- 
rival of his superior officer, without taking any aggres- 
sive attitude. Schuyler draws a graphic picture of his 



A History of Lake Champlain 167 

arrival at the landing place at the north end of Lake 
George at 10 o'clock the night before, only to find the 
guards sound asleep. An investigation showed a great 
shortage of ammunition, not a nail or other materials 
for boat building, and the fact that the troops were very 
poorly armed. 

Schuyler began work with vigor, repaired the saw- 
mills, and endeavored to get together the supplies so 
urgently needed. He complained that Connecticut had 
made such generous allowance for her troops that the 
fact was likely to breed dissatisfaction among the sol- 
diers from other colonies. Fifty milch cows had been 
sent up for the Connecticut regiment at a time when the 
pasturage was very short for the working oxen and fat 
cattle intended for beef for the troops, owing to what 
Schuyler called "the severest drouth ever known in this 
country." These cattle were ordered back to New Eng- 
land. 

Jeremiah Halsey had been appointed by Colonel 
Hinman "commodore of all armed vessels and crafts on 
Lake Champlain and George," a high sounding title for 
a fleet consisting of one schooner and one sloop. In a 
letter to Benjamin Franklin, Schuyler wrote that when 
he arrived at Ticonderoga he did not final craft sufficient 
to move 200 men. Halsey was soon superseded as "com- 
modore" by James Smith, of New York, who took com- 
mand of the sloop Enterprise, which vessel, he said, was 
"of very little use to the service." James Stewart was 
given command of the schooner Liberty. 

Very soon after the capture of Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, and the expeditions of Allen and Arnold to 
St. Johns, General Carleton, the British commander in 
Canada, sent all the troops he could spare to fortify St. 



168 A History of Lake Champlain 

Johns From Quebec he had obtained all the ship car- 
penters he could procure, and under the direction of Capt. 
7acharv Taylor they had proceeded to build vessels to 
replace the sloop and bateaux captured or burned by 
Arnold. 

Maj. John Brown left Crown Point July 24 with 
four men on a scouting expedition and arrived in Canada 
on Ju y 30, after a most fatiguing march, part of the way 
through a vast swamp. Brown was pursued and sur- 
rounded, but escaped by jumping out of a rear window of 
a house. He was followed for two days, but by the help 
of friendly Canadians he escaped. He returned by way 
of Missisquoi Bay, where he obtained a small canoe, and 
on Aug. 10 reached Crown Point 

Brown reported that, there were about 700 troops in 
Canada. There were 300 at St. Johns, 50 at Quebec, and 
the others were distributed at various posts, including 
Montreal and Chambly. He found the Canadians 
friendly, and in a report to Governor Trumbull he de- 
clared : "Now, Sir, is the time to carry Canada. It may be 
done with great ease and little cost, and I have no doubt 
but the Canadians would join us." 

Schuyler bent his energies to the building of boats, 
and on Aug. 23 was able to report that he had craft 
sufficient to move about 1,300 men with twenty days' 
provisions. Two flat bottomed boats, 60 feet long, had 
been built, each capable of carrying five 12-pounders; 
but, unfortunately, there was a lack of gun carriages.- 

After much effort troops were assembled for a Can- 
adian expedition. On Aug. 25 an officer at Ticonderoga 
wrote that there were about 1,200 men at that post. In 
describing conditions he said that there was an abun- 
dance of salt and fresh provisions, and that the soldiers 



A History of Lake Champlain 169 

were allowed each day a gill of rum and as much spruce 
beer as they could drink, "so that they have no occasion 
to drinkthe lakewater, itbeing reckoned very unhealthy." 
The idea that the lake water was unhealthy, or poisonous, 
which prevailed for a considerable period, is said to have 
been due to the appearance at certain times of a white 
scum on the surface, which gave forth an offensive odor 
under the direct rays of the sun. 

More than the spruce beer, however, was needed to 
make the men healthy. Schuyler wrote to Washington 
on Aug. 6 that the troops "are crowded in vile barracks 
which, with the natural inattention of the soldiery to 
cleanliness has already been productive of disease." On 
Aug. 14, 146 men were sick in Hinman's regiment, and 
48 out of 196 in Colonel Easton's regiment. The troops 
sickened rapidly. There was a lack of tents and hospital 
stores, and Schuyler gave to the regimental surgeons the 
supply of wine which he had brought for his own table, 
the General being accustomed to good living. From July 
20 to Sept. 25, 726 men were discharged on account 
of illness. 

About the middle of August, Capt. Remember Baker, 
who had been detailed to do scouting service, with a few 
men was reconnoitering in the Richelieu River, near the 
mouth of a tributary called the Lacolle. The party left 
their bateaux on the river bank and some Indians made 
off with it. Discovering the savages in the act, Baker's 
men fired, wounding several of the party. The fire was 
returned and one white man was killed. The Americans 
having fled, the Indians returned and cut off the head of 
their victim. His papers were taken and showed that 
the man slain was Captain Remember Baker, one of the 
ablest of the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys. His 



170 A History of Lake Champlain 

death is said to have been the first blood of the Revolu- 
tionary War shed on Canadian soil. Baker's head was 
taken to St. Johns and placed on a pole, where it is said 
to have remained for some time, although some writers 
assert that the gory trophy was carried to Mon- 
treal. Schuyler was considerably disturbed by this 
skirmish, as he feared it would estrange the Indians, 
whose friendship he had been working hard to obtain. 

Gen. Richard Montgomery, second in command un- 
der Schuyler, arrived at Ticonderoga Aug. 17. On 
Aug. 30 he left Crown Point, for the north, with 1,200 
men, and the Canadian invasion was begun. That night 
the troops encamped at Gilliland's settlement at West- 
port. Gilliland and Moses Pierson, of Shelburne, on the 
east side of the lake, had organized a company of Min- 
ute Men, about thirty being recruited at Willsboro and 
fifteen at Shelburne. Gilliland was the captain and Pier- 
son was a lieutenant. Gilliland furnished some of the 
boats for the expedition and conducted Montgomery 
down the lake, which he knew thoroughly from an experi- 
ence of ten years. The next day, Aug. 31, after passing 
the high point of Isle La Motte, the army stopped at a 
fine sandy beach on the island, to await the arrival of 
General Schuyler. He arrived on Sept. 4, and the 
same day the army departed for Isle aux Noix, in the 
Richelieu River, one of the French strongholds taken by 
the British in 1760. Schuyler was ambitious to lead the 
army of invasion in person, but his condition of health 
made this impossible. His illness, resulting from a bilious 
fever and a violent attack of rheumatism, compelled him 
to abandon the expedition, and on Sept. 16 he was 
put into a covered boat and started for Ticonderoga. 
About an hour from Isle aux Noix he met Col. Seth 



A History of Lake Champlain 171 

Warner with 170 Green Mountain Boys, being, as he says, 
"the first that had appeared of that vaunted corps." 
This statement proves that Warner's men did not leave 
Crown Point with the main body of the army, and did 
not camp at Isle La Motte with Montgomery. 

The American army received further reinforcements 
from time to time. A New York officer, writing Sept. 
14, said he intended to leave Ticonderoga the 
next day for Isle aux Noix, having been detained for 
want of boats, and on Oct. 22 General Wooster's regi- 
ment of 335 men sailed rather reluctantly from Ticon- 
deroga to join Montgomery. 

Evidently there had been some apprehension lest 
the Indian settlement on the Missisquoi should cause 
trouble, and an allusion is made in the documents of the 
period to the fact that certain New Hampshire compa- 
nies were guarding the frontier against the attack of the 
"Missisque" Indians. On Aug. 19 General Montgom- 
ery had requested Colonel Bedel to take three companies 
of New Hampshire Rangers, and march "with all dis- 
patch" to the mouth of the Winooski River, taking care 
to give the General such notice as would enable him to 
supply the necessary boats and provisions. On Aug. 31 
General Schuyler directed Bedel to join him without de- 
lay at Isle aux Noix, but there was some de- 
lay in leaving the Winooski River station owing to a 
lack of boats. 

Meanwhile Schuyler returned to Ticonderoga, where 
his health was somewhat improved, and proceeded to 
hasten the forwarding of provisions to the army of inva- 
sion. In a letter to the Continental Congress he said: 
"If I had not arrived here, even on the very day I did, as 
sure as God lives, the Army would have starved." 



172 A History of Lake Champlain 

With a few brief intervals General Schuyler had 
been engaged in the most arduous and distracting labor 
at Ticonderoga since the middle of July. His illness, and 
the hardships he had endured, moved him to relieve his 
mind in a letter written .to John Hancock, and dated at 
Ticonderoga, Sept. 25, in which he says: "The 
vexation of spirit under which I labour, that a barbarous 
complication of disorders should prevent me from reap- 
ing the laurels for which I have so unweariedly wrought 
since I was honoured with the command; the anxiety I 
have suffered since my arrival here lest the army should 
starve, occasioned by a scandalous want of subordina- 
tion, and inattention to my orders in some of the officers 
that I left to command at the different posts; the vast 
variety of disagreeable and vexatious incidents that al- 
most every hour arise in some department or other, not 
only retard my cure, but have put me considerably back 
for some days past. If Job had been the General in my 
situation, his memory had not been so famous for pa- 
tience." 

On Oct. 11 John Hancock wrote Schuyler, saying: 
"It is the determination of Congress at all events to keep 
the command of Lake Champlain. They would there- 
fore, have the mosteffectual means adopted for that pur- 
pose." It was also decided that Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point should be put into such a state of defence "as 
might be needed." This was a notable departure from 
the timid policy adopted by Congress when the news of 
Allen's victory first reached that body. 

Schuyler informed Hancock that Congress alluded 
to a garrison for Crown Point, evidently "on a supposi- 
tion that there is a fortification at that place, whereas 
there is none." Without explanation it would appear 



A History of Lake Champlain 173 

strange that a post upon which the British government 
expended two millions of pounds sterling only sixteen 
years before, making it one of the great fortresses of 
North America, now should be only a ruin. It appears, 
however, that not many years after Fort Amherst was 
built, by accident, it caught fire. The flames were commu- 
nicated to the powder magazine containing 96 barrels, and 
the explosion that followed practically ruined the fort, 
throwing down the upper stories of the barracks. The 
shock was distinctly felt ten miles away, and shook the 
surrounding country like an earthquake. These ruins, 
however, are said to be the most complete and im- 
posing to-day of any ancient fortification in America. 

On Nov. 3 the Continental Congress sent Rob- 
ert R. Livingston, Robert Treat Paine, and J. Langdon 
to Ticonderoga as a committee to consult with 
Schuyler regarding the condition of the forts and the 
number of men needed to reinforce the Canadian army. 

The American army had not been inactive across 
the border. Arnold, after almost incredible labor and 
suffering, had penetrated the Kennebec wilderness, 
threaded the Canadian forests, and proceeded to Point 
aux Trembles, on the St. Lawrence River, twenty miles 
above Quebec. 

Without any active command, Ethan Allen had 
"preached politics" to the French-Canadian people, seek- 
ing to win them to the American cause toward which, at 
first, they were favorably disposed. A little later, with 
a handful of men, mostly Canadian recruits, Allen rather 
rashly had attempted to capture Montreal. Not only 
did he fail, but he was taken prisoner on Sept. 25 
and sent to England in irons, thus disappearing from 
active participation in the War for Independence almost 



174 A History of Lake Champlain 

at its beginning. Isle aux Noix was fortified by the Ameri- 
cans, and on Oct. 18 Fort Chambly was taken by a 
detachment under Majors Brown and Livingston. Mont- 
gomery proceeded to invest St. Johns. Carleton with 
one thousand troops, regulars, Canadians, and Indians, 
set out to raise the siege. Attempting to land at Lon- 
gueil, the British commander was repulsed by Col. Seth 
Warner and a party of 300 men, mostly Green Mountain 
Boys, who had secreted themselves on the river bank. 
Warner then erected a battery at the mouth of the Riche- 
lieu to prevent Carleton from advancing toward St. 
Johns. 

On Nov. 2 Major Preston, commandant at St. 
Johns, surrendered that important post to General Mont- 
gomery, and the prisoners were ordered to be taken to 
Reading, Lancaster, and York, Pa. As previously stated 
John Andre was one of the prisoners captured. Thusanot- 
able victory was won in spite of jealousy and insubordina- 
tion in the American army. 

Following up his success, Montgomery took posses- 
sion of Montreal ten days later. Then he proceeded down 
the St. Lawrence, and on Dec. 1 joined Arnold at 
Point aux Trembles. 

Warner's Green Mountain Boys had enlisted as vol- 
unteers, and not being supplied with suitable clothing for 
camping out of doors in a Canadian winter, they were 
honorably discharged on Nov. 20, and returned to 
their homes. 

Up to the time when Montgomery and Arnold 
united their forces, the American advance had been 
practically a succession of victories. The remainder of 
the campaign was destined to be a succession of defeats. 



A History of Lake Champlain 175 

It is not the purpose of this book to give in detail the 
history of the Canadian campaign, with the exception 
of those phases that concern the valley of Lake Cham- 
plain; but a brief summary of operations is needed to 
make the Champlain portion of the record intelligible. 
In the early morning hours of the last day of the year 

1775, in a blinding snow storm, an attempt was made to 
take Quebec by assault. -The attempt failed disastrously. 
General Montgomery, one of the most capable officers 
produced during this war, was mortally wounded, and 
died in the arms of Capt. Aaron Burr. General Arnold 
was severely wounded and was carried from the 
field. General Morgan fought on in the storm and the 
cold with his detachment until half of his men were 
killed, and then surrendered. The remainder of the 
American army retired up the river about three miles 
and there spent the rest of the winter, enduring great 
suffering and privation. 

By the death of Montgomery the command of the 
American army in Canada fell to General Wooster, who 
had been left in command at Montreal. On Jan 6, 

1776, Wooster wrote to Col. Seth Warner imploring him 
to send reinforcements of his Green Mountain Boys and 
urging that he should not wait until a full regiment was 
mustered, but that the soldiers should "be sent on by 
tens, twenties, thirties, forties or fifties, as fast as they 
can be collected." Warner responded promptly, and both 
Schuyler and Washington praised him for his zeal. The 
Green Mountain Boys were sent to Quebec, where many 
contracted smallpox, and some died. 

Learning that affairs were going badly in Canada, 
the Continental Congress appointed a commission to 
make an investigation, hoping that the Canadian people 



176 A History of Lake Champlain 

might still be won over to the American cause, and join 
the army of invasion in opposition to British rule. This 
commission consisted of Benjamin Franklin, Samuel 
Chase, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton. They were ac- 
companied by Mr. Carroll's brother, Father John Carroll, 
later the first Roman Catholic archbishop in the United 
States, much being expected from his influence with the 
Catholic population of Canada. Early in the spring the 
party left Philadelphia and proceeded to Albany, where 
the hospitality of General Schuyler's home was extended, 
the General making preparations for the remainder of 
the journey. A bateau carried the party through Lake 
George, and six yoke of oxen drew the boat over the 
portage to Lake Champlain, where two boats were pro- 
vided, Ticonderoga being reached late in April. These 
bateaux were 36 feet long, 8 feet wide, with square ends 
and rigged with a mast for a blanket sail. An awning 
was used as a substitute for a cabin. Each boat was 
manned by thirty or forty soldiers. i 

A stop was made at Crown Point, and another at the 
house of Peter Ferris, on the east side of the lake, in 
Panton, where the night of April 24, 1776, was spent. 
Leaving at 5 o'clock the next morning a severe gale was soon 
encountered, and it was necessary to stop in what is now 
the town of Essex, N. Y., at thehomeof one of William Gil- 
liland's tenants. Proceeding on the journey, Montreal 
was reached on April 29. 

Travelling in an open boat, and sleeping under an 
awning, or in a rude forest hut during April weather in 
this north country, was not an agreeable experience for 
Benjamin Franklin. He was then 70 years old and was 
not in robust health, although the most important part 
of his life work remained to be done. Father Carroll was 



A History of Lake Champlain 177 

not able to aid the American cause as he had hoped to do, 
and the commission was able to accomplish little, there- 
fore the priest and Doctor Franklin left Montreal on 
May 11, and returned by way of Lake Champlain, reach- 
ing Ticonderoga early in June. The other commissioners 
returned later. The reverses of the American army and 
the lack of hard money were obstacles too serious to per- 
mit the accomplishment of any services of material im- 
portance by this, or any, special commission. 

During the winter Arnold continued the siege of 
Quebec with only about 400 men fit for duty. Late in 
January, 1776, reinforcements arrived, recruiting the 
strength of the besieging force to 960 men, of whom less 
than 800 were fit for duty. In a short time smallpox 
broke out, adding greatly to the sufferings already ex- 
perienced. 

General Thomas arrived May 1 and took command 
of the army before Quebec, which now numbered about 
1,900 men, and this force soon was increased to 3,000 sol- 
diers. At this late period Congress had seen the necessity 
of reinforcing the Canadian army. General Sullivan was 
given command of the new brigade, Stark and Wayne 
being among the officers. The smallpox proved a more 
dangerous enemy than the British soldiers. Of the 3,000 
men before Quebec all but about 900 at one time were 
rendered unfit for duty by the disease. 

Finding the army in no condition for aggressive 
service, lacking provisions, and learning that heavy re- 
inforcements of British troops were expected soon, Gen- 
eral Thomas retreated in haste to the mouth of the Riche- 
lieu River, abandoning artillery, stores, baggage, and 
some of the sick. Here General Thomas was stricken 



178 A History of Lake Champlain 

with smallpox, and being removed to Chambly, died 
there on June 2. 

The command now devolved upon General Sullivan. 
The British army, meanwhile, had been reinforced by 
the arrival of 13,000 men under General Burgoyne. 
Schuyler had found it a difficult matter to collect and 
forward by way of Lake Champlain provisions for 3,000 
men. After Sullivan's arrival the army in Canada needed 
daily 12,000 pounds of pork and the same amount of 
flour. The pork was obtained but the average daily ship- 
ment of flour did not exceed 2,000 pounds. 

A council of officers was called, which advised a re- 
treat. On June 14, therefore, General Sullivan abandoned 
his position at Sorel, and set out for St. Johns. The 
next day Arnold, who had been in command at Montreal, 
left that city with his troops, marching across country 
to Chambly. Burgoyne followed the retreating Ameri- 
cans, but was ordered not to risk anything until he was 
reinforced. Determined to save their remaining artillery 
and stores, the Americans, many of them still weak and 
ill from the effects of smallpox, plunged into the water, 
and by sheer strength of muscle drew more than one 
hundred heavily loaded bateaux over the rapids of the 
Richelieu, working often up to their waists in the water. 
Three vessels, three gondolas, and all the boats 
that could not be brought away, were burned. As the 
advance guard of the British army entered Chambly, the 
American rear guard marched out. 

The retreating army under Sullivan reached St. 
Johns on June 17, about half of the troops being ill, and 
all of them ragged and hungry. Taking such things as 
could be transported, they applied the torch to the fort 
and barracks, and pushed on to Isle aux Noix, reaching 



A History of Lake Champlain 179 

that post on June 18. On this day Gen. Horatio Gates 
was appointed to command the forces in Canada, an 
empty honor indeed, and one which circumstances made 
it impossible to accept. 

The soldiers who were fit for service remained at 
Isle aux Noix for eight days, until the sick could be trans- 
ported out of Canada. Some of them were taken tem- 
porarily to Point au Fer and Isle La Motte, but most of 
them were transported directly to Crown Point. Ban- 
croft says that "they made the voyage in leaky boats 
which had no awnings, with no food but raw pork and 
hard bread or unbaked flour." 

When the boats that had taken the sick to Crown 
Point returned to Isle aux Noix, they were loaded with 
baggage, the troops marching to Point au Fer which had 
been fortified by order of General Sullivan. Here boats 
were awaiting the soldiers and they were taken to Crown 
Point, arriving there July 3, a little more than ten and 
one half months from the time the gallant Montgomery 
with high hopes had set out for the north to conquer a 
province. Thus ingloriously ended the Canadian cam- 
paign. 

A council of war decided that Crown Point could 
not be defended successfully, and the retreat was con- 
tinued to Ticonderoga. Although the army was en- 
camped at Crown Point only about ten days, they left 
behind as a grim reminder of their stay three hundred 
freshly made graves. The condition of the army at this 
time was miserable indeed. John Adams described it as 
"disgraced, defeated, discontented, dispirited, undisci- 
plined, eaten up with vermin, no clothes, beds, blankets, 
nor medicines, and no victuals but salt pork and flour." 

On the retreat from Canada Sullivan had written 



180 A History of Lake Champlain 

Washington: "The raging of the smallpox deprives us of 
whole regiments in the course of a few days. Of the re- 
maining regiments from fifty to sixty in each are taken 
down in a day." A return of soldiers absent from duty, 
taken two days before, was enclosed by Sullivan with the 
comment that in the forty-eight hours which had elapsed 
since the report was made, a quarter of those given as 
effective troops had been stricken with the prevailing 
disorder. Five men were fit for duty in Colonel Pater- 
son's battalion, which had left New York, April 21, six 
hundred strong. When Schuyler sent this detachment to 
Washington's assistance in December only two hundred 
men were fit for duty. Another authority says of the 
army that retreated from Canada: "It was said that two 
regiments had not a single man in health; another had 
only six, and a fourth only forty; and two more were 
nearly in the same condition." 

On July 29, 1776, Governor Trumbull, of Connecti- 
cut, drew this picture of the army on Lake Champlain: 
"There are now 3,000 sick and about 3,000 well; this 
leaves near 5,000 to be accounted for; of these the enemy 
have cost perhaps 1,000 — sickness another 1,000 — which 
leaves near 3,000; in what manner they are disposed of 
is unknown. Among those who remain there is neither 
order, subordination or harmony; the officers as well as 
men of one colony insulting and quarrelling with those 
of another. * * * How they will maintain their naval 
supremacy, I must confess myself much at a loss. They 
build a gondola, perhaps one in a week; but where are 
they to find rigging for them — where the guns? To be 
sure they have a great train of artillery, but very few of 
them mounted on carriages; at present their materials 
and conveniences for making them are very slender. 



A History of Lake Champlain 181 

They have neither places fit for them to work in, nor 
materials in that plenty that they ought to have. To 
oppose the enemy on the lake they have a schooner of 12 
carriage guns, a sloop of 8 guns, two small schooners to 
carry 4 or 6 each, and three gondolas, and the 'large 
schooner is now in good sailing order and about to take 
a trip down the lake to make discovery. The sloop is a 
most unmanageable thing, it is impossible to beat up 
against a wind in her. The two small schooners are not 
armed — and even the carriages of their guns are yet to 
be made. * * * A reform is absolutely necessary; the 
soldiers are ragged, dirty, and many lousy; clothing 
greatly wanted — some destitute of sufficiency to make 
themselves comfortable and decent to appear." 

The smallpox patients were sent to a hospital estab- 
lished at the head of Lake George. The fort at Skenes- 
borough was repaired and made the headquarters for 
reinforcements. 

General Schuyler had been given command of the 
Northern department, but Gates was assigned to the 
command of Ticonderoga. This displeased Sullivan, who 
left in disgust for New York and Philadelphia. 

The Boston Gazette of Aug. 29, 1776, printed an 
extract from a letter which said: "We hear from Ticon- 
deroga that on the 28th of July, immediately after 
divine worship, the Declaration of Independence was 
read by Col. St. Clair, and having said 'God save the 
free independent States of America' ! the army mani- 
fested their joy with three cheers. It was remarkably 
pleasing to see the spirits of the soldiers so raised after 
all their calamities, the language of every man's coun- 
tenance was, Now we are a people! we have name among 
the states of this world." Probably this date should be 



182 A History of Lake Champlain 

July 18, when a courier arrived with news of the adop- 
tion ot the Declaration of Independence. A salute of 
thirteen guns was fired and the neighboring eminence 
was christened Mount Independence. 

A letter written from Mount Independence by Col. 
Samuel Wigglesworth, to the New Hampshire Commit- 
tee of Safety, as late as Sept. 27, 1776, shows that con- 
ditions were still deplorable. In his letter he says : "Gen- 
tlemen, I wish you could transport yourselves to this 
place for a moment to see the distressed situation of 
these troops. *** There are no medicines of any avail in 
the Continental chest; such as there are in their native 
state unprepared; noemeticknorcathartick; no mercurial 
nor antimonial Remedy; no opiate of elixir, tincture, nor 
even any capital medicine. It would make a heart of 
stone melt to hear the moans and see the distresses of the 
dying. *** Now, Sirs, think how much more unhappy and 
distressed the condition of these troops would be should 
the enemy attack our Lines." 

Rum containing four pounds of gentian root and 
two pounds of orange peel to a hogshead was served to 
the men, and when these ingredients were not available 
the physicians suggested as a substitute snakeroot, dog- 
wood, and centaury. 

In time, however, conditions improved. The 
smallpox gradually was conquered, and although there 
was some fever and ague, the health and spirits of the 
men showed a great change for the better. Fresh beef 
and mutton added a pleasant variety to a salt pork diet 
and the distress caused by lack of tents was alleviated, in 
a measure at least, by the arrival of 100,000 feet of boards 
for purposes of shelter. However, the sufferings of the 



A History of Lake Champlain 183 

army in Canada, and on the return to Lake Champlain, 
rank with the privations endured by Washington's troops 
at Valley Forge. 



184 A History of Lake Champlain 

CHAPTER X. 

ARNOLD'S NAVAL BATTLE. 

During the summer and fall of 1776 the greater part of 
the army at Ticonderoga was engaged in throwing up 
intrenchments, mounting guns, and securing provisions. 
The autumn weather was bad, making work difficult. 
When it rained half a gill of rum was served to the men, 
and if the weather was very wet the ration was increased 
to a gill. 

Hon. Robert 0. Bascom says that private soldiers 
at the time received $6.67 a month , and in October, 1776, 
there was granted a bounty of $20 and a suit consist- 
ing of two linen hunting shirts, two pairs of stockings, 
two pairs of shoes, one pair of breeches , one waistcoat, 
two pairs of overalls and one leather cap; in addition, a 
promise of one hundred acres of land at the close of the 
war was made. A colonel's pay was $75 a month. Mr. 
Bascom further states that the regulation equipment for 
a Continental soldier at this period was "a good 
firearm with a steel or iron ramrod with a spring to re- 
tain the same, a worm, priming iron and brush, a bayo- 
net fitted to the gun, a scabbard and belt therefor, a cut- 
ting sword or tomahawk or hatchet, a pouch containing a 
cartridge box that will hold fifteen rounds of cartridges 
at least, a hundred buckshot, a jack-knife and tow for 
wadding, six flints, one pound of powder, forty leaden 
bullets fitted to gun, a knapsack, blanket and canteen or 
wooden bottle sufficient to hold a quart." 



A History of Lake Champlain 185 

Early in September the barracks and parade 
ground were finished. The intrenching tools were so few 
that it was necessary to divide the men into shifts that 
the tools might not be idle at any time. The works were 
completed in November, 1776, under the direction of 
Colonel, later General Wayne. Among the troops were 
men from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the New 
Hampshire Grants. The Massachusetts troops came by 
way of Springfield, (Vt.,) Rutland, Castleton, and Skenes- 
borough. 

The necessity of constructing a fleet if the mastery of 
the lake were to remain in the hands of the Americans 
was apparent to all. Gates selected Arnold to have 
charge of naval operations, and wrote Washington as 
follows concerning the choice: "As soon as all the ves- 
sels and gondolas are equipped, General Arnold has of- 
fered to go to Crown Point and take the command of 
them. This is exceedingly pleasing to me; as he has a 
perfect knowledge of maritime affairs, and is, besides, a 
most deserving and gallant officer." 

On May 7, 1776, General Schuyler had ordered Ja- 
cobus Wynkoop, a captain in the Continental service, to 
proceed immediately to Ticonderoga and take command 
of "all the vessels on Lake Champlain" — not an impos- 
ing flotilla, by any means — and with the greatest expedi- 
tion to put them in the best condition possible for imme- 
diate service. There is no evidence that any task of 
importance was performed by Captain Wynkoop, but he 
did mention in a memorial to Congress, that he expected 
the appointment of "Commodore of the Lakes." When 
Gates appointed Arnold to command the ships on the 
lake there was trouble at once. Wynkoop refused to 



186 A History of Lake Champlain 

take orders from Arnold, and maintained that he had re- 
ceived no notice of the appointment of a successor. After 
some sharp correspondence General Gates issued an or- 
der on Aug. 18, directing that Wynkoop should be ar- 
rested and taken to headquarters at Ticonderoga as a 
prisoner. Gates sent him on to Albany, where he con- 
tented himself in writing to Congress concerning his 
troubles. 

Arnold brought to the task of preparing the best pos- 
sible fighting squadron the same energetic qualities that 
he had, displayed in the Quebec campaign. The New 
England seaports were called upon to furnish ship car- 
penters and naval stores. It was necessary to fell the 
trees in the woods and drag the timber to the ship yards 
at Skenesborough. Most of the stores and ammunition 
were brought overland, by roads that were nearly im- 
passable. The vessels, when built, were brought to Ti- 
conderoga and Crown Point to be equipped with sails, 
armament, and stores. 

By the middle of August Arnold had assembled a 
fleet consisting of the sloop Enterprise under Captain 
Dixon; the schooner Revenge, Captain Laman; the 
schooner Liberty, Captain Primer; the schooner Royal 
Savage, Captain Wynkoop; and the gondolas Boston, 
Spitfire, Philadelphia, Providence, and New Haven. 

The British were as active at St. Johns as their op- 
ponents were at the southern end of the lake. During 
the summer of 1776 ship carpenters had been busy under 
the direction of Capt. Charles Douglas, in constructing a 
fleet with which it was expected the mastery of this im- 
portant waterway might be regained. The planking 
and frames of two schooners were taken apart at Cham- 
bly and transported by land around the rapids of the 



A History of Lake Champlain 187 

Richelieu, to St. Johns, where they were reconstructed. 
Douglas found under construction at Quebec the hull of 
a ship of 18Cftons. He took this apart nearly to the keel 
and shipped it to St. Johns on thirty long boats, 
which, with a gondola of 32 tons, several flat bottomed 
boats, and 400 bateaux were drawn up the rapids. 

With his hastily constructed fleet Arnold sailed 
north from Crown Point on Aug. 20, cruising between 
that post and the mouth of the Boquet River until Sept. 
2. On the evening of that day he went as far as Schuyler 
Island, and on the next day proceeded to Windmill 
Point, where the fleet remained for several days. 

On Sept. 7 the vessels were anchored in a line guard- 
ing the channel opposite Isle La Motte, through which 
ships coming from St. Johns must pass. A boat con- 
taining eighteen men, and commanded by a sergeant, 
was sent ashore to cut fascines to fix on the bows and 
sides of the gondolas, in order to prevent the enemy from 
boarding. The men placed their guns against a rock, 
two men being posted as sentries, and proceeded with 
their task. Before they had fairly begun work an Indian 
was seen within half a stone's throw, who hailed the ser- 
geant. Being asked to give an account of himself the 
Indian replied that he was a Caughnawaga. Suspect- 
ing trouble, the men ran for their boat and pushed off as 
quickly as possible, a band of savages following so closely 
that the Americans narrowly escaped being tomahawked. 
The boat was armed with a small cannon, loaded with 
shot, and this the sergeant attempted to discharge, but 
the Indians fired, cutting the lighted match out of his 
hand. The men on board fired in return and rowed back 
to the ships in great haste. The guns of the fleet were 
fired into the woods and the Indians fled. In this skir- 



188 A 'History ^of Lake Champlain 

mish the American casualties were three men killed and 
five wounded. 

The firing was heard at Crown Point, and Gates 
was notified. Supposing that a battle with the British 
fleet was in progress, Gates, in turn, notified Schuyler, at 
Albany, who ordered out a considerable number of the 
militia. This order was revoked as soon as the nature of 
the affair was learned. On the morning of the skirmish 
Arnold was reinforced by the arrival of the galley Lee, 
carrying six guns, and the gondola Connecticut, with 
three guns. 

On the night of Sept. 7 the British began the erec- 
tion of batteries on either side of Arnold's position, caus- 
ing him to retire farther south, to a point a little to the 
north of Cumberland Head. As the schooner Liberty 
was proceeding to her anchorage she was hailed from the 
shore by a Canadian, who asked to be taken on board. 
The captain sent a boat toward the shore with orders to 
be ready to fire at any indication of treachery. The 
Canadian waded out about a rod, but refused to go far- 
ther. As the boat's crew declined to go so near to the 
land the man made a signal, when a party of 300 Can- 
adians and Indians, concealed on the shore, fired, wound- 
ing three of the crew. The fire was returned, and the 
schooner discharged several broadsides of grape. 

Having sounded the channel between Valcour Is- 
land and the New York shore, and found the anchorage 
to be a good one, the American fleet took position there 
on Sept. 23. A few days later Arnold was reinforced by 
the arrival of the galley Trumbull, Captain Warner 
commanding. On Oct. 6 General Waterbury, who had 
been appointed second in command, arrived with the 



A History of Lake Champlain 189 

galleys Washington, Captain Thacher, and Congress, 
Captain Arnold. 

The Liberty had been sent to Crown Point for sup- 
plies and an eight gun galley was receiving her arma- 
ment at Ticonderoga. With these exceptions, the entire 
American fleet was assembled at Valcour. The crew 
consisted of about 500 men, mostly soldiers from the 
army. Arnold had hoped for New England seamen 
with which to man his ships, but they were not sent. 

Sir Guy Carleton left St. Johns on Oct. 4, with 
a fleet consisting of the Inflexible, an eighteen gun ship, 
reconstructed in twenty-eight days, Lieutenant Schwenk 
commanding; the schooner Maria, Lieutenant Starke; 
the schooner Dacres ; the flat bottomed radeau,Thunderer, 
Lieutenant Scott ; and the gondola Loyal Consort, Lieuten- 
ant Longcroft. In addition there were twenty gunboats, 
each carrying a brass field piece, while four long boats, 
each armed with a carriage gun, served as tenders. Capt. 
A. T. Mahan says the British had 42 available guns, 
while Arnold had a total of 32 cannon, of smaller calibre 
than the ordnance of the enemy. 

The British ships were manned by about 700 picked 
seamen from craft on the St. Lawrence, in addition to a 
number of soldiers and artillerymen, while a party of In- 
dians, in canoes, accompanied the fleet. To Capt. 
Thomas Pringle was given the command. Although Sir 
Guy Carleton accompanied the expedition, he did not 
attempt to direct naval operations. In numbers, 
both of ships and men, as well as in armament and 
equipment, the British fleet was much superior to the 
American squadron. Sir George Otto Trevelyan, English 
historian and statesman, says that "compared with 



190 A History of Lake Champlain 

Carleton's vessels, the American sloops and galleys 
were mere cock-boats " 

At Point au Fer, Pringle had stopped, and a block- 
house had been erected, four companies being left to 
garrison and defend it. On the night of October 10 the 
fleet anchored between Grand Isle and North Hero. 
The next morning the ships continued along the Grand 
Isle shore, having heard that the Americans were in 
that vicinity. No scout boats had been sent out, and 
Valcour Island being high, Arnold's position was not 
discovered until the island had been passed. 

General Waterbury desired to go out and meet the 
enemy, but Arnold preferred to hold the position he had 
taken. It was 8 o'clock on Friday morning, October 11, 
when the British ships were sighted, but some time was 
consumed in tacking from the leeward, or rowing up to 
the channel where the little American fleet was stationed. 
The woods on Valcour Island and on the mainland were 
filled with Indians, who kept up a constant rifle fire, but 
their aim was so bad that little harm was done. To pro- 
tect the decks from this fire Arnold had erected rude 
barricades of fagots. 

Captain Pringle experienced no little difficulty in 
bringing his ships into action, so that it was 11 o'clock 
before the British commander was able to open fire with 
his gunboats upon the Royal Savage, which, with the 
galleys, had advanced a little distance in front of the 
battle line formed by the rest of the squadron. The 
schooner Carleton was the first of the enemy's ships 
to come to the aid of the smaller craft. She was anchored 
with a spring on her cable. The American fire was 
centered on this ship. Her commander was knocked 
senseless, another officer lost an arm, and the command 



A History of Lake Cham plain 191 

devolved upon Edward Pellew, then a boy 19 years old. 
The Carletons spring was shot away and she swung 
around, bow on, her fire being silenced. Pellew exposed 
himself recklessly and in a place of great peril succeeded 
in extricating his ship. 

By poor management, early in the action, the crew 
of landsmen permitted the Royal Savage, Arnold's flag- 
ship, to fall to the leeward, where she sustained a heavy 
fire, her masts being damaged and her rigging shot away. 
Soon she was run aground on the point of Valcour Island, 
all on board escaping safely. That night she was boarded 
by the enemy and set on fire. All of Arnold's papers and 
most of his personal effects were lost. The Royal Savage 
was the only vessel in Arnold's fleet really in a class with 
the British ships. The American commander transferred 
his flag to the Congress which has been described as 
"nothing more than a rowing galley with mast and 
sails." 

At 12:30 o'clock the engagement became general 
and continued until 5 o'clock, round- and grape shot 
being used in a very hot fire. The British ships, with 
the exception of the Inflexible, which did not get into 
action until late in the afternoon, and all of their gon- 
dolas, fought within musket range of the American 
craft. The Washington of Arnold's fleet, received several 
cannon balls through her hull, her mainmast was shot 
through and her sails were riddled. General Waterbury 
was the only active officer left on board at the close of 
the action, the first lieutenant having been killed and 
the captain and master wounded. The Congress was 
hulled twelve times, she received seven shot "between 
wind and water," her mainmast was damaged in two 
places, and her yard in one, and the rigging was shot 



192 A History of Lake Champlain 

to pieces. With his own hands Arnold pointed most of 
the guns on the flagship, and in the thick of the fight 
found time, by word and deed, to encourage the men 
on board. All the officers on the gondola New York were 
killed except Captain Lee. The Philadelphia was hulled 
in so many places that she sank about an hour after the 
battle closed. The American losses in killed and wounded 
amounted to 60. Arnold had reason to congratulate 
himself that his fleet was not utterly annihilated. 

The British fleet was considerably damaged. Eight 
men were killed, and six were wounded on the Carleton. 
Two gunboats were sunk and one was blown up with 
a considerable number of men, the loss being estimated 
as low as 20 and as high as 60 men, although the smaller 
number, probably, is much nearer the truth than the 
larger. A British artillery boat commanded by a German 
lieutenant was sunk. 

It was in this battle that Edward Pellew, after- 
ward Lord Exmouth, won his first laurels as a British 
naval officer. 

As evening came on the British ships withdrew a 
little distance, in order to secure advantageous positions 
for the morrow, and anchored just beyond the range 
of Arnold's guns. The Thunderer held the right of the 
line near Garden Island, while the Maria held the left 
near the New York shore. Between were the Loyal Con- 
sort and the formidable ship Inflexible. The Carleton 
and the gunboats occupied positions between the other 
ships. 

At the close of the battle Arnold called a council 
of war. His fleet was seriously crippled, most of his 
officers were killed or disabled, and three-fourths of his 



A History of Lake Champlain 193 

ammunition had been spent. To continue the fight an- 
other da.y meant annihilation or surrender. Arnold, 
therefore, determined to risk the attempt of a retreat, 
although the chances were heavily against success. The 
channel close to the west shore, however, had not 
been carefully guarded. 

The darkness had fallen early on that October night, 
and with it came a mist that aided the American plans 
for retreat. At 7 o'clock Colonel Wigglesworth, with 
the Trumbull led the way, with no lights visible save a 
stern lantern, so masked that it could be seen only by 
the ship immediately in her wake. The Enterprise, the 
Lee, and the gondolas followed. At 10 o'clock General 
Waterbury, with the Washington, and General Arnold, 
with the Congress, brought up the rear. Silently and 
successfully the crippled American fleet slipped out of 
the net drawn around it by the enemy; and on Satur- 
day morning, to his surprise, the British commander 
found no ships to fight or capture. Sir Guy Carleton 
was in a rage, and the pursuit was begun in haste. 

Arnold had proceeded nine miles up the lake, as 
far as Schuyler Island, not far from the present location 
of Port Kent. Here he was compelled to repair his 
shattered fleet; otherwise, as a result of his brilliant 
manoeuvre, he might have reached Crown Point in 
safety. Two gondolas or armed barges, were so badly- 
damaged that it was necessary to sink them. 

The British ships did not discover Arnold's position 
on the morning of Oct. 12, and returned to Valcour 
Island, remaining there until night, when scouts re- 
ported that the American fleet had been sighted. Having 
stopped the worst leaks and made other necessary re- 
pairs, under adverse conditions, Arnold set sail for Crown 



194 A History of Lake Champlain 

Point on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 12. A south wind 
was blowing and Arnold's ships when at their best never 
made good progress in beating against the wind. Al- 
though the oars were used, the crew, wounded and weary, 
made slow progress. 

Tradition says that on the morning of Oct. 13, 
in the mist of the early dawn, an object was sighted near 
Providence Island which was supposed to be one of 
Arnold's ships, and one or more of the British vessels 
opened fire. It proved, however, to be a large rock, and 
thereafter, in *derision, it was called Carleton's Prize. 

The fog lifted on Sunday morning and about noon 
Arnold's fleet was overtaken a little to the south of the 
point where the Boquet River empties into the lake, 
and not far from Split Rock. 

The Washington, badly damaged in the first battle, 
was limping along in the rear and was the first of the 
American vessels to be overtaken by the Maria and 
the Inflexible. After a few broadsides she was compelled 
to strike her colors. Then for two hours and a half a run- 
ning fight was waged, round and grape shot being hurled 
into Arnold's flagship the Congress. A spirited defence 
was made by the Americans as they endeavored to reach 
the protection of the guns at Crown Point. The Inflex- 
ible and two schooners paid special attention to the Con- 
gress, two under her stern and one on her broadside. 
That she remained afloat, and able to fight for several 
hours against such terrible odds is one of the wonders 
of American naval history. A first lieutenant and 
three men on the Congress were killed. Fighting 
desperately, with splendid skill and courage, Arnold 
almost reached his desired haven; but when ten 
miles north of Crown Point he saw that further resist- 



A History of Lake Champlain 195 

ance was impossible with his riddled, sinking ships. 
Determined that he would not surrender he ran the 
Congress and four gondolas into the mouth of a 
creek, flowing into a bay on the Panton shore, 
on the east side of the lake, known there- 
after as Arnold's Bay. The water was too shallow for 
the larger British craft to pursue. Here the small 
arms were removed and the ships were set on fire, their 
colors still flying, and were burned to the waters' edge. 
Arnold was the last man to leave the fleet. Staying on 
board until he was sure the flames would do their work 
he climbed along the bowsprit and dropped to the beach. 

Leading his men through the forest, Arnold arrived 
at Crown Point at 4 o'clock on Monday morning, Oct. 
14, where he found the sloop Enterprise, the galley 
Trumbull, and one gondola, which had arrived there the 
day before. The galley Lee had been run ashore and 
blown up near Split Rock, on the west shore of the lake. 
The British had captured only the galley Washington 
and the gondola Jersey, although the Americans had 
lost one schooner, two galleys, and seven gondolas, ten 
vessels out of a fleet of fifteen. The killed and wounded 
numbered between eighty and ninety, more than twenty 
of the casualties being on Arnold's flagship. The British 
loss, according to their own estimate, was forty, although 
their opponents placed the figures considerably higher. 

General Carleton ordered his surgeons to treat the 
American wounded with great kindness. The prisoners 
were brought on board his flagship, where he praised 
their bravery, treated them to grog, and sent them to 
Ticonderoga in charge of Captain, afterwards Sir 
James Craig, on giving their parole that they would not 
bear arms against Great Britain again until they should 



196 A History of Lake Champlain 

be exchanged. The prisoners were so enthusiastic over 
Carleton's humane treatment that it was not considered 
wise to allow them to land and sound the praises of the 
British commander in the ears of the American troops; 
therefore they were hurried on to Skenesborough the 
same night. 

On the same day that Arnold reached Crown Point 
the works at that place, by no means formidable, were 
destroyed, and troops and stores were removed to Ticon- 
deroga. Carleton landed a force immediately, occupy- 
ing both the east and west shores of the lake. He had 
planned to proceed at once against Ticonderoga, but 
on the next day, Oct. 15, a strong south wind sprang 
up, and for eight days blew so hard that the British ships 
were windbound. These days were invaluable to the 
American cause. 

General Gates, commanding the army at Ticon- 
deroga, had assembled about 12,000 men. While Carle- 
ton was delayed at Crown Point, the troops surrounded 
the American works with a strong abatis, and made 
carriages for and mounted forty-seven cannon. 

Carleton repaired the fortifications at Crown Point 
and anchored three of his largest ships near Putnam's 
Point, in the vicinity of which a body of light infantry, 
grenadiers, and some Canadians and Indians were en- 
camped. The woods were filled with reconnoitering par- 
ties of British troops, some of them going as far south 
as Lake George. 

Between 8 and 9 o'clock on Monday morning, Oct. 
27, the British fleet approached Ticonderoga, 

Five large transports landed a detachment at Three 
Mile Point, and two armed boats approached the east 
shore. They were fired upon by a row galley, and retired. 



A History of Lake Champlain 197 

Another party of British troops was sent into a small 
bay about four miles below the works. 

General Gates ordered the American defences to be 
manned, and directed that three regiments from Mount 
Independence should reinforce the main garrison. 

Having learned to his satisfaction that the Ameri- 
cans were capable of making a spirited defence at Ticon- 
deroga, Carleton withdrew at 4 o'clock in the after- 
noon, and returned to Crown Point, where he made 
preparations to retire to Canada for the winter. On 
Nov. 3, the rear guard of the British army left the 
post and the same day it was reoccupied by the Ameri- 
cans. 

When Gates learned that Carleton had departed, 
he dismissed the militia, and with most of the regular 
troops, departed for New Jersey to join Washington's 
army, Gen. Anthony Wayne being left in command. 

Captain Douglas, under whose direction the Brit- 
ish fleet had been constructed at St. Johns, sent a special 
message of the Lake Champlain victory to the British 
ambassador at Madrid, "presuming," he said, "that the 
early knowledge of this great event in the southern part 
of Europe may be of advantage to His Majesty's ser- 
vice." 

As rewards for the British naval triumph, General 
Carleton was made a Knight of the Bath, and Captain 
Douglas, a baronet. 

The battle of Lake Champlain was the first impor- 
tant naval engagement of the Revolution, and although 
it must be counted an American defeat, yet, like the 
defeat of the American army at Bunker Hill, it was 
more than half a victory. It is true that the British loss 
was not so great as in the famous Massachusetts engage- 



198 A History of Lake Champlain 

ment; but the masterly skill displayed by Arnold against 
overwhelming odds, the steadiness and courage shown 
by the rank and file, demonstrated alike to friend and 
foe that the Americans were at least the equal, man for 
man, of any fighting force in the world. Seldom has the 
personality of a commander so dominated an entire body 
of fighting men as did the gallant spirit of Benedict Ar- 
nold, which seemed to possess the officers and men of 
the little American fleet in the battle of Lake Champlain. 
What this American defeat on Lake Champlain 
really won for the national cause is best told by Captain 
Mahan, whose supremacy as an authority in matters of 
naval history is beyond question. In an article on "The 
Naval Campaign of 1776 on Lake Champlain," pub- 
lished in Scribner's Magazine for February, 1898, he 
says: "That the Americans were strong enough to im- 
pose the capitulation of Saratoga was due to the 
invaluable year of delay, secured to them in 1776 by 
their little navy on Lake Champlain, created by the 
indomitable energy, and handled with the indomitable 
courage of the traitor, Benedict Arnold. That the war 
spread from America to Europe, from the English Chan- 
nel to the Baltic, from the Bay of Biscay to the Medi- 
terranean, from the West Indies to the Mississippi, and 
ultimately involved the waters of the French peninsula 
of Hindostan, is traceable through Saratoga, to the rude 
flotilla which in 1776 anticipated the enemy in the pos- 
session of Lake Champlain. * * * Considering its raw 
material and the recency of its organization, words can 
scarcely exaggerate the heroism of the resistance which 
undoubtedly depended chiefly upon the personal mili- 
tary qualities of the leader. * * * The little American 
navy on Lake Champlain was wiped out, but never had 



A History of Lake Champlain 199 

any force, big or small, lived to better purpose or died 
more gloriously ; for it had saved the lake for that year. 
Whatever deductions may be made for blunders and 
for circumstances of every character, which made the 
British campaign in 1777 abortive and disastrous, and 
so led directly to the American alliance with France in 
1778, the delay, with all that it involved, was obtained 
by the lake campaign of 1776." 

Captain Mahan's testimony of the importance of 
the naval battle on Lake Champlain is corroborated by 
that of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, in his "American 
Revolution." The English historian says: "His [Arnold's] 
fellow countrymen repaid his frankness [in report- 
ing his losses] with almost universal approbation and 
gratitude. He had lost them a squadron which, but for 
his personal exertions, would never have been built; 
and he had lost it to some purpose. * * * Carleton 
had unduly delayed his onward movement out of respect 
for the preparations which the Americans were making 
for his reception; and no English General after him 
would have consented to be hoodwinked unless it was 
clearly shown that those preparations, which had been so 
widely and ably advertised, were a reality and not a 
sham. Gunboats and galleys, in Arnold's view, were 
made to be expended just as much as cartridges; and 
any fate would be better for his ships than to skulk away 
in front of the British advance until they were hunted 
up against the shore at the head of Lake George, and 
there trapped and taken like so many wild fowl in a 
decoy. For most assuredly, even at that late season of 
the year, Carleton would not have halted short of Albany, 
or New York itself, if the Americans, whether on lake 
or land, had made the ignominious confession that they 



200 A History of Lake Champlain 

were afraid of fighting. * * * It was something to know 
that a leader existed who was eager to hurl himself at 
the enemy, and fight an almost desperate battle as vigor- 
ously and obstinately as if victory were not a bare 
chance, but a cheerful probability. * * * Arnold's 
example aroused an outburst of enthusiasm and martial 
confidence throughout the States, and most of all among 
those of his countrymen who were nearest to the danger." 
Fortunate would it have been for the fame of Bene- 
dict Arnold if a kind Providence had decreed that a 
British bullet should have pierced his heart as he stood 
on the Panton shore, watching the flames consume the 
American colors, which he had saved by desperate 
bravery from the humiliating f ite of being lowered to 
a victorious foe. Then he might have been enshrined 
as one of the immortal heroes of our national historv. 



A History of Lake Champlain 201 

CHAPTER XI 
BURGOY NE'S INVASION. 

General Schuyler, knowing that "the evil day" 
merely was postponed, and that another season would 
witness a formidable British invasion by way of Lake 
Champlain, was active in attempting to prepare for an 
attack. Again and again he called the attention of Wash- 
ington and of Congress to the needs of the Northern de- 
partment. He also labored to conciliate the Indians, 
and to keep informed regarding the movements of the 
enemy. 

The garrison at Ticonderoga was not large, and 
some apprehension was felt lest a British expedition 
might take advantage of the frozen surface of the lake 
to make a winter attack upon the American works. 
Carleton, however, made no such attempt. 

During this period there were "fightings within" 
as well as "fears without." On the night after Christ- 
mas, Dec. 26, a Pennsylvania officer stationed at 
Ticonderoga, while partially intoxicated, assaulted a 
Massachusetts colonel, and this affair led to a riot, in 
which the Pennsylvanians taunted the "Yankees," and 
fired upon the Massachusetts men, wounding several. 
The matter was not made the subject of a court martial 
and a reconciliation was effected by means of a dinner, 
a time-honored expedient. The Pennsylvania officer 
sent his men into the woods on a hunting expedition, 
where they killed a fat bear. Bruin formed the piece 



202 A History of Lake Champlain 

de resistance of a banquet to which the insulted Massa- 
chusetts colonel and his officers were invited; the in- 
vitation was accepted, the bear was eaten, and harmony 
once more reigned in the American camp. 

Wayne wrote to Schuyler on Feb. 13, 1777, 
that a scouting party had secured information showing 
that there were 500 British troops at St. Johns; 300 at 
Isle aux Noix, with a battery of twelve guns; and 20 at 
Point au Fer. At le Gran Isle (Grand Isle) they found 
100 Indians and a few regulars, part of the force being 
posted on the west shore of the lake. On April 13 Wayne 
wrote from Ticonderoga that three days before a strong 
party of the enemy was discovered at the group of islands 
in the lake known as the Four Brothers. 

Gates and Schuyler did not get on well together, 
and there was a question as to whom the command in 
the Champlain valley belonged. This was settled in 
Congress on May 22, when Schuyler was elected com- 
mander of Albany, Ticonderoga, and Fort Stanwix, and 
their dependencies, by a majority of one state. When 
Gates received the news he started for Philadelphia to 
pull the wires for reinstatement. 

To Gen. Arthur St. Clair, called the best of the 
brigadiers in the North, was assigned the active com- 
mand of Ticonderoga. With the coming of summer, and 
the expectation that the British would attack the fort, 
great exertions were made to strengthen the works, 
which had been laid out by Thaddeus Kosciusko, the 
Polish patriot. On the summit of Mount Independence, 
directly opposite Ticonderoga, which was a table land, 
a strong star-shaped fort was erected, being well supplied 
with artillery. In the centre was a square of barracks, 
a part of which was occupied as a hospital. 



A History of Lake Champlain 203 

To connect the two fortifications a floating bridge, 
400 yards long, was constructed, supported by twenty- 
two sunken piers made of large timbers. The spaces 
between these piers were filled with separate floats, each 
about 50 feet long and 12 feet wide, strongly fastened 
together with iron chains and rivets. On the north side 
of the bridge was a boom constructed of large timbers 
riveted together; and by the side of this boom a double 
iron chain, the links of which were an inch and a half 
square. This barrier was supposed to make the passage 
of a British fleet impossible, and was erected at great 
expense. 

At the foot of Mount Independence, toward the 
lake, a breastwork had been thrown up, and this was 
strengthened by an abatis and a strong battery near the 
mouth of East Creek. The old French lines west of the 
fort had been occupied and w r ere guarded by a block- 
house. Half a mile in front of the French lines a small 
fort on Mount Hope protected the extreme left, while 
redoubts and batteries were placed in the low lands be- 
low the fort. An outpost was established at the old saw- 
mills, one on the rapids at the outlet of Lake George, 
and another just above that place. At the northern end 
of Lake George a hospital and blockhouse were erected. 

Mount Defiance, 750 feet high, which commanded 
the outlet of Lake George and the entire works, was left 
unfortified, as it was supposed that it would not be pos- 
sible to occupy that eminence. 

The defences had been planned on a large scale, 
extending for more than two miles and a half in the form 
of a crescent, and needed at least 10,000 men to defend 
them. To man these works St. Clair had about 2,800 
regulars and 900 raw and undisciplined militia, poorly 



204 A History of Lake Champlain 

armed and equipped, eight out of every nine men being 
without a bayonet. It was expected that an assault 
would be made upon the works, and among the weapons 
of defence provided were poles about twelve feet long 
with sharp iron points, designed to be used in repelling 
an attacking force. 

Congress authorized Washington to call upon the 
Eastern States to raise and forward regiments for the 
defence of Ticonderoga. Following these instructions 
he wrote the president of the New Hampshire State 
Council on May 3: "You must be fully sensible of the 
vast importance of what is depending and the almost 
irreparable consequences that would result, should any 
misfortune happen to the post now threatened, as the loss 
of it would open an avenue for easy progress into the 
Eastern States: to prevent which it might probably be 
some time before an adequate force could be opposed. 
The pressing emergency of the occasion calls loudly for 
every effort in your power." 

Colonel Warner was sent out to secure reinforce- 
ments and in a letter written on this subject he said: "I 
should be glad if a few hills of corn unhoed should not be 
a motive sufficient to detain men at home considering 
that the loss of such an important post can hardly be 
remedied." 

Gen. John Burgoyne was chosen in March, 1777, 
to command the Northern British army. He was an 
officer of considerable experience, who had won laurels 
in Portugal, a polished gentleman, a writer of plays, 
and a member of Parliament; but he did not under- 
stand the situation in America with anything like the 
thoroughness of Sir Guy Carleton's comprehension of 
the subject, and his appointment generally was con- 



A History of Lake Cham-plain 205 

sidered a slight upon the governor of Canada. Never- 
theless, Carleton co-operated in every way possible to 
make the expedition by way of Lake Champlain a suc- 
cess. He kept the British squadron in repair, trained 
tjie regulars in manoeuvre- suitable for forest warfare, 
and reserved only a small garrison to guard the Can- 
adian posts. 

The regular troops numbered rather more than 
4,000 men, and all were seasoned veterans. Gen. Simon 
Fraser, one of the three brigade commanders, had served 
under Wolfe at Louisbourg and Quebec. Of General 
Phillips, who had won fame in the German wars, it is 
said: "It may well be doubted whether a better artillery 
officer, in quarters or on the field, ever held a commis- 
sion." Lord Balcarras was a colonel of light infantry, 
and although only 35 years old, had been in the service 
for twenty years. 

The grenadiers were under Maj. John Dyke Acland, 
"heir apparent to the greatest family of English land- 
owners, who have consented to remain commoners." 
He was a member of Parliament, and a cousin of Charles 
James Fox by marriage. The light infantry and gren- 
adiers were said to be such a body of men as "could not 
be raised in a twelvemonth, search England through." 
The Indians, of whom there were about 500, having 
been allured to the British camp by the prospect of 
unlimited quantities of rum and the possibility of get- 
ting scalps, were commanded by La Corne St. Luc, whose 
name was a terror to the colonies, and a synonym of 
savage barbarity. There were also a few Canadian 
militia. 

Part of Burgoyne's force consisted of more than 
3,000 German troops, not all of them, properly speak- 



206 A History of Lake Champlain 

ing, Hessians, as they have been called, many being 
Brunswickers. They had been secured by conscription 
from the Landgrave of Hesse and the Duke of Bruns- 
wick, and came to England poorly clothed and shod. 
They sailed for America without overcoats and suffered 
much from the rigors of a Canadian winter, and from 
homesickness. Fredrich Adolph von Riedesel, counted 
a good soldier, was the principal German officer. 

Justin Winsor says the army was made up of 4,135 
British soldiers, 3,116 Germans, 148 Canadians and 503 
Indians, a total of 7, 902. Winsor also declares that this 
force was "probably the finest and most excellently sup- 
plied as to officers and private men that had ever been 
allotted to second the operations of any army." The 
equipment included a complete train of brass artillery 
of forty-two pieces. 

Burgoyne reached Quebec in May, 1777, having 
visited England the previous winter, and early in June 
the British army left St. Johns. The plan of cam- 
paign was to cut the colonies in twain by isolating New 
England and the Hudson valley from the remainder of 
the country. Burgoyne was to proceed to Albany by 
way of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, while 
General Howe was to come up the Hudson valley to 
meet him. 

As the fleet left St. Johns, under command of Cap 
tain Lutwidge, the royal standard was raised on the flag- 
ship and was saluted by all the shipping and forts. 
Head winds caused some delay, bad weather and 
bad roads also delaying land transportation, and at 
Cumberland Head a halt was made for the arrival of 
stores and ammunition. Seven hundred carts were 
brought for moving baggage and supplies at the por- 



A History of Lake Champlain 207 

tage between the lakes and the Hudson River, and 
1,500 horses were sent by land on the west side of 
the lake under a strong escort. 

When the supplies were received the army advanced 
to the mouth of the Boquet River. The war fleet made 
a brave spectacle, with music and banners, as it advanced 
southward, with the beautiful setting of midsummer on 
Lake Champlain. The scene recalls Abercrombie's ad- 
vance down Lake George, about a decade earlier. 

Capt. Thomas Aubrey, a young British officer, an 
eye witness, gave this description of the scene: "When 
in the widest part of the lake it was remarkably fine and 
clear, not a breeze stirring, when the whole army ap- 
peared at one view in such perfect regularity as to form 
the most complete and splendid regatta ever beheld. 
In the front the Indians went in their birch canoes con- 
taining twenty or thirty in each; then the advanced 
corps in a regular line with the gunboats; then followed 
the Royal George and Inflexible, towing large booms 
which are to be thrown across two points of land, with 
the other brigs and sloops following; after them the 
brigades in their order." 

At the mouth of the Boquet, on June 21, Burgoyne 
halted to give a great war feast, being joined by 400 
Iroquois, Algonquins, Abenakis, and Ottawas. In his 
speech on this occasion the British commander poured 
contempt upon the rebels, and added: "Warriors, you 
are free — go forth in the might of your valor and your 
cause — strike at the common enemies of Great Britain 
and America, disturbers of public order, peace and hap- 
piness, destroyers of commerce, parricides of the state. 
* * * Be it our task from the dictates of our religion, the 
laws of our warfare, and the principles and interest of 



208 A History of Lake Champlain 

our policy, to regulate your passions when they overbear, 
to point out when it is nobler to spare than to revenge, 
to discriminate degrees of guilt, to suspend the uplifted 
stroke, to chastise and not to destroy." He laid down 
these rules for his savage allies: "I positively forbid 
bloodshed when you are not opposed in arms. Aged 
men, women, children and prisoners must be held sacred 
from the knife or hatchet, even in the time of actual 
conflict. You shall receive compensation for the prisoners 
you take; but you shall be called to account for scalps. 

"In conformity and indulgence to your customs, 
which have affixed an idea of honor to such badges of 
victory, you shall be allowed to take the scalps of the 
dead when killed by your fire, and in fair opposition; 
but on no account or pretence, or subtlety or prevari- 
cation are they to be taken from the wounded, or even 
dying; and still less pardonable, if possible, will it be 
held, to kill men in that condition on purpose, and. upon 
a supposition that this protection to the wounded would 
be thereby evaded. 

"Base lurking assassins, incendiaries, ravagers and 
plunderers of the country, to whatever army they may 
belong, shall be treated with less reserve ; but the latitude 
must be given you by order, and I must be the judge 
of the occasion. 

"Should the enemy on their part dare to counten- 
ance acts of barbarity towards those who may fall into 
their hands, it shall be yours also to retaliate." 

In Parliament, Fox, Burke, and Chatham, in the 
most vigorous terms, condemned the employment of the 
Indians. In the House of Commons, Burke held 
up to ridicule Burgoyne's speech to his sav- 
age allies, saying: "Suppose there was a riot on Tower 



A History of Lake Champlain 209 

Hill. What would the keeper of His Majesty's lions do ? 
Would he not fling open the dens of the wild beasts, and 
address them thus: 'My gentle lions — my humane bears 
— my tender-hearted hyenas, go forth! But I exhort 
you, as you are Christians and members of civil 
society, to take care not to hurt any man, woman or 
child.' 

The British army reached Crown Point on June 27, 
where magazines and a hospital were established. 

On July 4 Burgoyne issued a bombastic proclam- 
ation, intended to strike terror to the hearts of the people 
of the Champlain valley. It began as follows: "By John 
Burgoyne, Esq., Lieutenant-General of His Majesty's 
armies in America, Colonel of the Queen's regiment of 
light dragoons, Governor of Fort William in North Brit- 
ain, one of the Representatives of the Commons 
of Great Britain in Parliament and commanding an 
army and fleet employed on an expedition from Cana- 
da, etc., etc., etc. 

After setting forth the monstrous wickedness of the 
rebels, he says: "Determined to strike where necessary, 
and anxious to spare where possible, I by these presents 
invite and exhort all persons, in all places where the pro- 
gress of this army may point, and by the blessing of God 
I will extend it far, to maintain such conduct as may 
justify me in protecting their lands, habitations and 
families. * * * The domestic, the industrious, the in- 
firm and even the timid inhabitants, I am desirous to 
protect, provided they remain quietly at their houses; 
that they do not suffer their cattle to be removed, nor 
their corn or forage to be secreted or destroyed ; that they 
do not break up their bridges or roads; nor by any other 
act, directly or indirectly, endeavor to obstruct the op- 



210 A History of Lake Champlain 

erations of the King's troops, or supply or assist those 
of the enemy.|] Every species of provision brought to 
my camp will be paid for at an equitable rate, and in 
solid coin." 

j, After holding out the promise of protection, and 
the temptation of hard money for provisions, the threat 
of Jndian horrors is paraded, in order to frighten the 
inhabitants into submission, in these words: "In con- 
sciousness of Christianity, my royal master's clemency, 
and the honor of soldiership, I have dwelt upon this in- 
vitation, and wished for more persuasive terms to give 
it impression: And let not people be led to disregard it, 
by considering their distance from the immediate situ- 
ation of my camp. I have but to give stretch to the 
Indian forces under my direction and they amount to 
thousands, to overtake the hardened enemies of Great 
Britain and America: I consider them the same wherever 
they may lurk. 

"If, notwithstanding these endeavors and sincere 
inclinations to effect them, the phrenzy of hostility should 
remain, I trust I shall stand acquitted in the eyes of God 
and men, in denouncing and executing the vengeance of 
the state against the wilful outcasts. The messengers of 
justice and of wrath await them in the field; and devas- 
tation, famine and every concomitant horror that a re- 
luctant but indispensible prosecution of military duty 
must occasion, will bar the way to their return." 

Some of the settlers, perhaps more than the popu- 
lar impression generally has classed among the faint 
hearted, accepted Burgoyne's protection; but the major- 
ity remained steadfast to the cause of American liberty, 
and in hundreds of instances left all they possessed 
rather than be false to the interests of the new nation. 



A History of Lake Champlain '211 

On June 30 Burgoyne issued orders declaring that 
"this army must not retreat." The next day, July 1, 
the royal forces advanced in three divisions. The right 
wing, under General Phillips, proceeded along the west 
shore toward Fort Ticonderoga; the left wing, consist- 
ing of German recruits, followed the east shore, toward 
Mount Independence; the centre and naval force, under 
Burgoyne's personal command, kept station in the mid- 
dle of the lake, the frigates and gunboats anchoring 
just out of range of the American artillery. A party of 
Indians followed by a considerable force under General 
Fraser, approached the Lake George outposts July 2, 
whereupon the Americans retired, abandoning the saw- 
mills and burning the blockhouse. On July 3, General 
Fraser, without opposition, took possession of Mount 
Hope, which commanded part of the American lines, 
and permitted the enemy to cut St. Clair's communi- 
cations toward Lake George. It was impossible for such 
a slender garrison to defend such an extensive system 
of fortifications. 

Burgoyne was not in haste to follow Abercrombie's 
example, and make a general assault upon the works. 
He preferred, therefore, to invest the fortress, bringing 
up his artillery, stores, and provisions, and drawing his 
lines closer to Mount Independence. 

St. Clair tried his best to cheer his troops. The 
American guns kept up a hot fire on Reidesel's force 
and upon Mount Hope, but without results. Ticon- 
deroga was now invested on three sides, north, east, and 
west. 

The high eminence, then known as Sugar Hill, 
which commanded the entire American works, was ex- 
amined by Lieutenant Twiss, the British engineer, who 



212 A History of Lake Champlain 

declared that it was possible to place artillery upon the 
summit. 

Following this report work was pushed with great 
vigor night and day. A road was cut up the mountain 
side, and eight guns — 24-pounders and 8-inch howitzers, 
were dragged up by the aid of oxen. The height was 
rechristened Mount Defiance by Twiss. 

On the morning of July 5 great was the astonish- 
ment of the Americans to see the summit of Sugar Hill 
red with British soldiers. St. Clair harbored no delusions 
regarding the occupation of that lofty eminence. He 
knew that the fate of his army was sealed if he remained 
at Ticonderoga. A council of war was hastily called, 
and it was conceded by the officers assembled that within 
a few hours a plunging fire from Mount Defiance would 
make every part of the works untenable. It was decided 
therefore, to retreat before Reidesel should cut off the 
narrow passage south of East Creek, which was the only 
line of retreat left open by land. This decision, however, 
was kept from the troops until evening. 

The water route to Skenesborough was still open, 
and supposed to be safe, owing to the boom and great 
chain across the lake, which obstructed navigation. 
About midnight orders were issued to place the sick, 
the wounded, and the women on board two hundred 
long boats. Cannon, provisions, and tents were placed 
in other boats, and about 3 o'clock on the morning of 
July 6, convoyed by five armed galleys, all that was 
left of Arnold's fleet, and accompanied by a guard of 
600 men commanded by Colonel Long, of New Hamp- 
shire, the" flotilla started for Skenesborough. The moon 
shone brightly as the boats left Ticonderoga, and later 
the sun rose upon a beautiful day. Little apprehension 



A History of Lake Champlain 213 

was felt, as pursuit was supposed to be practically im- 
possible. Although the army was retreating, the pro- 
gress of this portion of the forces was not a doleful one, 
the music of drum and fife enlivening the occasion. Dr. 
James Thacher, a surgeon, who was on board one of 
the ships, in his journal describes this voyage, saying: 
"Among the hospital stores, we found many dozen of 
choice wine, and breaking off their necks we cheered our 
hearts with the nectareous contents." 

Skenesborough was reached at 3 o'clock in the after- 
noon, and in less than two hours the Americans were 
startled by the sound of British guns firing upon the 
galleys at the wharf. The bridge, boom, and chain, 
erected at such great expense of time and money, had 
delayed the enemy only a few hours. The Royal George 
the Inflexible, and a number of gunboats under Captain 
Carter, had pursued in haste, and had almost over- 
taken the American fleet. Three regiments were dis- 
embarked at the head of South Bay to occupy the road 
to Fort Edward. 

The American officers attempted to rally their 
men, but this was found impossible. More than "the 
nectareous contents" of the hospital stores was needed 
now to cheer the hearts of the soldiers. A panic prevailed 
and at first the troops fled in all directions, each man 
seeking his own personal safety. 

Two war galleys surrendered and the other three 
were blown up by their own crews. The long 
boats and other craft were either sunk, burned j or L cap- 
tured. Before retiring, the defeated forces set fire to 
the storehouse, sawmills, forges, and repairing sheds. 
The dry trees caught fire, and the whole hillside was 



214 A History of Lake Champlain 

soon ablaze. General Schuyler was informed later that 
"not one earthly thing was saved." 

The Americans retired in confusion through a nar- 
row defile in the woods to Fort Ann. So closely were 
they pursued that the cry frequently would go up from 
the rear: "March on, the Indians are at our heels." 
Many of the invalids were taken up Wood Creek in boats, 
and some of the baggage was saved in this way; but all of 
the cannon and provisions, most of the baggage, and some 
of the sick fell into the hands of the victors. 

A small force, sent out by Schuyler from Fort Ed- 
ward, reached Fort Ann on July 7. A British detach- 
ment approaching the same day was attacked by the 
Americans and defeated, a surgeon, a captain who was 
wounded, and twelve privates being taken prisoners. 
The next day Fort Ann was burned, and the garrison 
retired to General Schuyler's camp at Fort Edward. 

At the the same hour that the flotilla had leftTicon- 
deroga, 3 o'clock on the morning of July 6, the main body 
of the army began to cross the bridge to Mount Indepen- 
dence, retreating toward Hubbardton (Vt.) At 4 
o'clock the rear guard under Colonel Francis left the 
works on the eastern shore. All this time, in order to 
allay suspicion, one of the batteries had continued to fire 
on Mount Hope. Either by accident, or foolishly, by 
design, General de Fermoy set fire to his house, and the 
retreat was discovered by the enemy. Generals Fraser 
and Reidesel were ordered to pursue the Americans, who 
were retreating in confusion; but before starting Fraser 
ordered his pickets into the fort, and took possession of 
the long coveted post, taken more than two years before 
by Ethan Allen, who was now languishing in prison, and 
the British flag again floated over Ticonderoga. Then 



A History of Lake Champlain 215 

he hastened after St. Clair with 850 men, making a forced 
march, part of it in the hot sun of a July day. 

The Americans had pushed on to Hubbardton, where 
they halted for two hours, permitting many stragglers to 
come up; then the main body of the army continued to 
Castleton. A rear guard of 700 men was left at Hub- 
bardton under Col. Seth Warner. 

When night fell, Fraser was near Hubbardton, but 
his men were exhausted, and throwing themselves on the 
ground they slept on their arms. At 5 o'clock the next 
morning Fraser's scouts surprised Warner's pickets as 
the latter were cooking their breakfast. One regiment 
retreated, but Warner and Francis rallied the others, and 
they fought in Indian fashion, from behind trees and 
thickets. 

For three hours the contest continued, victory hang- 
ing in the balance. One side would advance, only to be 
driven back presently by their opponents. About 8 
o'clock Reidesel arrived with a detachment of his slow 
moving Germans, and thus turned the scale in favor of 
the British arms. Reidesel had dashed on in advance of 
his troops, cursing and raging at their delay. Although 
his advance detachment was not large, they made a great 
noise, singing battle hymns, shouting and firing, and 
creating the impression that a large force was approach- 
ing. Fraser ordered a bayonet charge and the Ameri- 
cans fled. 

Colonel Francis was killed at the head of his regi- 
ment. Colonel Hale, who had charge of a body of inva- 
lids, was overtaken on the road to Castleton and surren- 
dered. Colonel Warner advised his men to take to the 
woods and meet him at Manchester, where 150 men as- 
sembled a few days later. St. Clair, by a circuitous 



216 A History of Lake Champlain 

route, through Rutland, Manchester, and Bennington, 
joined Schuyler July 12. 

The Americans lost 324 men in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners. The British casualties numbered 183, Major 
Grant being killed, Major Acland severely wounded, and 
the Earl of Balcarras slightly wounded. 

The Vermont convention, called to make and adopt 
a constitution, was in session at Windsor when news came 
of the loss of Ticonderoga and the pursuit of St. Clair. 
The families of many of the members of the convention 
were known to be in peril, with a British force on Ver- 
mont soil, and a hasty adjournment seemed likely ; but a 
severe thunder storm came up at that moment, and the 
reading of the constitution, paragraph by paragraph, was 
continued until it was completed. 

Burgoyne, in a short campaign, had captured the 
posts of Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and Skenesborough, 
won the control of Lake Champlain and Lake George, 
and taken 180 cannon, much ammunition, all the Ameri- 
can reserve tents, 349,760 pounds of flour, 143,830 pounds 
of salt meat, many cattle, and the American standard. 
It appeared to be a notable triumph, and Burgoyne 
wrote glowing accounts of his victory to England, send- 
ing his aide-de-camp, Captain Gardner, as a special mes- 
senger to bear the news to court. He ordered special re- 
ligious exercises to be held at the head of the line the fol- 
lowing Sunday, and that a. feu de joie be fired at sunset 
the same day, at Crown Point, Ticonderoga, Skenes- 
borough, and Castleton. 

The British ministerial party considered that the 
war was over. The betting odds in London shifted from 
even money on the recognition of American independence 
to odds of 5 to 1 against it. The loyalist exiles in Eng- 



A History of Lake Champlain 217 

land were overjoyed. Some immediately engaged pas- 
sage for New York. Others chartered an army trans- 
port and made arrangements for the shipment of a cargo 
of merchandise to sell in America when the war was end- 
ed, an event not far distant, it was supposed. 

When the King heard the news of the British victory 
on Lake Champlain, he rushed into the Queen's apart- 
ments in great delight, exclaiming that he had beaten all 
the Americans. Lord George Germaine was directed to 
promise Burgoyne the title of Knight Commander of the 
Bath, with a lively hope of something more substantial, 
but these honors were declined with thanks by Lord 
Derby, a relative of the American commander, and his 
representative in England. 

If there was joy in Great Britain over the fall of 
Ticonderoga, there was corresponding consternation in 
America over what was considered an almost irremedi- 
able disaster. "The popular imagination had invested it 
with the impregnability of an enchanted castle," says 
John Austin Stevens. "It was the bursting of a me- 
teor, which by its awful peal shook every habitation 
from Maine to Georgia," says President Timothy 
Dwight, of Yale College. Washington, Hamilton, and 
other leaders were highly displeased that St. Clair should 
have been so easily manouvered out of his position. To 
such an extent did popular criticism go that the ridicu- 
lous charge was made, and believed by some, that Gen- 
erals Schuyler and St. Clair were traitors, and were paid 
for their treason by silver bullets fired into the Ameri- 
can camp by Burgoyne's soldiers. 

St. Clair defended himself by saying that "we have 
lost a post, but saved a province." Schuyler was blamed 
by Congress for neglect of duty in failing to order a time- 



218 A History of Lake Champlain 

ly retreat if the post could not be defended successfully. 
He was tried by court martial but was acquitted by a 
unanimous vote, and "with the highest honor." St. 
Clair was also tried and acquitted. 

On July 8, Col. Moses Robinson, Lieut. Col. Na- 
thaniel Brush, Capt. Elijah Dewey, Deputy Commissary 
Joseph Farnsworth, and John Fay, addressed an appeal 
to the militia officers and committees of safety in Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut saying: ."The British Army is 
advancing into the country killing, robbing the 
inhabitants, driving off their cattle to their own use; 
our whole army is in a very broken situation, * * * unless 
the enemy be soon stop'd & repuls'd the whole Country 
will fall into their hands, which will prove the ruin of the 
whole as we have large stores deposited in this place 
[Bennington] which we shall of necessity be obliged to 
leave to the enemy & retreat down into the New Eng- 
land States, which will soon reduce the country to 
Cleanness of Teeth." An appeal for troops followed. 

Ira Allen, writing July 15 from Manchester to the 
New Hampshire Committee of Safety, said: "By the 
surrender of the fortress of Ticonderoga a communica- 
tion is opened to the defenceless inhabitants of the front- 
iers, who, having little more in present store than suffi- 
cient for the maintenance of their respective Families, 
and not ability immediately to remove their effects, are 
therefore induced to accept such Protections as are of- 
fered them by the enemy." In this letter Allen pointed 
out how this yielding on the part of some to British au- 
thority restricted the frontier, and urged that unless help 
came soon Vermont could not maintain a frontier, 
a task which, with a little aid, it was as Veil able to do as 
New Hampshire herself. 



A History of Lake Cham plain 219 

Col. Seth Warner wrote from Manchester, on July 
18, to the New Hampshire Council of State and field of- 
ficers: "There is an Army or Body of the Enemy to the 
amount of three thousand at Castleton, many of the 
People have fled and left all in the Enemy's hands and 
are continually on the move, and unless we can 'have help 
to make a stand against the Enemy I know not where the 
End will be. Some have took Protection from them 
already." Aid was forthcoming, however. Nothing 
was better calculated to arouse the people of New Eng- 
land than the threat of an Indian invasion. Their own 
villages and firesides were endangered, and the militia 
rallied in large numbers to check the British advance. 

From Skenesborough General Burgoyne issued a 
proclamation "to the inhabitants of Castleton, Hub- 
bardton, Rutland, Tinmouth, Pawlet, Wells, Granville 
[N. Y.] with the neighboring districts; also the districts 
bordering on White creek, Cramdens, Cambridge, etc." 
They were directed to send deputations of ten persons 
or more from each township to meet Colonel Skene at 
Castleton, Vt. on Wednesday morning, July 15, at 10 
o'clock, when conditions would be communicated "upon 
which the persons and properties of the disobedient may 
yet be spared" — so ran the proclamation, which closed 
with the injunction: "This fail not to obey under pain 
of military execution." 

General Schuyler responded with a vigorous coun- 
ter-proclamation, ordering that all persons who had 
taken or might take protection from Burgoyne be ar- 
rested and placed in jail. He further directed that all 
who should aid or correspond with the British should be 
counted as traitors and dealt with as such. 



220 A History of Lake Champlain 

Burgoyne failed dismally, however, in securing any 
considerable aid or allegiance from the people of the 
Champlain valley. 

After the battle of Hubbardton, Riedesel was sta- 
tioned at Castleton, thus giving the impression that 
New England might be invaded. This act created the 
greatest alarm, and almost every town within possible 
striking distance anticipated an attack. 

Burgoyne determined to march to Fort Edward by 
way of Fort Ann, instead of returning to Ticonderoga 
and proceeding to the Hudson River by way of Lake 
George, a route which would have saved many miles of 
difficult travel. Most of his artillery and stores were 
sent forward by the Lake George route, but he declined 
to change his course, being an exceedingly proud man, 
although giving as his reason that to retrace his steps 
would discourage his soldiers. It has been intimated 

that Colonel Skene was responsible in a measure for the 
route taken, as the building of a military road through 
his extensive property would have been very beneficial 
had the British ultimately won. 

General Schuyler never appeared to better advan- 
tage than in delaying Burgoyne's advance. He was con- 
fident of ultimate success and on July 14 wrote: "We 
shall still have a merry Christmas." 

The navigation of Wood Creek, a stream emptying 
into Lake Champlain at Skenesborough, was obstructed 
with huge stones and logs. Trees were felled into the 
creek, where, with branches interlocked, they formed 
obstacles very difficult to remove. All the bridges were 
burned and axemen were sent up each of the roads from 
Fort George to Fort Edward, with orders to make pass- 
age for an army as difficult as possible. Farms along the 



A History of Lake Cham plain 221 

route were deserted and the cattle driven off, that they 
might not furnish sustenance for the enemy. 

Through this wilderness and morass Burgoyne 
forced his army, but it took twenty-four days to cover 
the twenty-six miles between Lake Champlain and Fort 
Edward, so well had Schuyler's men done their work. 
The British found it necessary to build forty bridges, one 
across a swamp two miles long. With great labor Wood 
Creek was cleared to permit the passage of bateaux. 
When Fort Edward w r as reached at last, on July 30, Bur- 
goyne's soldiers were exhausted by their arduous labors — 
work to which they were not accustomed — performed 
with the fierce heat of midsummer pouring down into the 
forest, and clouds of insects swarming about them. 
There was none of the poetry of warfare in such a cam- 
paign. 

Here the British army remained until Aug. 15, 
awaiting provisions, ammunition, and supplies for the 
proposed expedition down the Hudson. Practically all 
the food for the troops must be transported from Quebec, 
much of it coming from across the Atlantic. The army 
had been somewhat depleted by the necessity of leaving 
garrisons at the various posts conquered, as General 
Carleton maintained that he had no right to send his sol- 
diers out of Canada to hold the forts taken. 

Gen. Benjamin Lincoln had been stationed at Man- 
chester with a body of Massachusetts militia to make a 
diversion in Burgoyne's rear. About the middle of Sep- 
tember Colonel Warner and Colonel Johnson were or- 
dered to threaten Mount Independence; Colonel Brown, 
with Herrick's Rangers, and some volunteers and militia, 
was directed to advance upon the Lake George posts and 
Ticonderoga; while Colonel W'oodbridge was sent 



222 A History of Lake Champlain 

against Fort Ann and Skenesborough. Capt. Ebenezer 
Allen, with his Rangers, was directed to leave Brown and 
Herrick at a designated point and proceed against 
Mount Defiance. 

During the night Brown climbed the mountains 
that lay between him and the head of Lake George. 
Sentinels were posted with orders to give as a signal 
"three hoots of an owl," to guide the soldiers in the dark- 
ness. Up the steep slopes of Mount Defiance swarmed 
Captain Allen's men, only to find near the summit a cliff 
that they could not ascend. This difficulty was over- 
come when Allen told one of his soldiers to stoop, and 
leaping on his back climbed to the top of the cliff, the 
others following. The Americans were soon discovered, 
but Allen's men followed him, as he said, "like a stream 
of hornets." The garrison departed in haste with the 
exception of one gunner, who attempted to discharge a 
cannon. Allen fired at him, shouting, "Kill the gunner," 
and the man fled, match in hand. The British troops 
ran down the slope, only to be captured at the foot of 
the mountain by Major Wait. Lieutenant Lord, who 
held the blockhouse, offered considerable resistance, 
and did not surrender until several guns taken from a 
sloop had been brought to bear on the position. 

Colonel Brown captured Mount Hope and a block- 
house near the old French lines. Several gunboats, an 
armed sloop, 200 long boats, and 293 men were cap- 
tured, and 100 American prisoners taken in the battle 
of Hubbardton were released. One of the gratifying 
features of the expedition was the recovery of the Amer- 
ican standard abandoned by St. Clair. 

Colonel Warner was slow in his advance, and did 
not reach Mount Independence until the morning of the 



A History of Lake Champlain 223 

day following the events just mentioned. When the 
forces were united a summons to surrender was sent to 
General Powel, British commandant at Ticonderoga, 
but he refused to obey. For four days the works were 
cannonaded, but no apparent impression being made 
the Americans withdrew to the lower end of Lake George. 
Here, on July 24, an attack was made on Diamond Is- 
land, where Captain Aubrey and two companies of the 
Forty-seventh regiment guarded a large quantity of 
public property. The attack was unsuccessful, and 
Brown and Warner having sustained a small loss re- 
treated to the east side of the lake, burned their boats, 
and recrossing the mountains returned to Lincoln's 
headquarters, then located at Pawlet. 

Meanwhile the problem of feeding his troops, and 
the loyalists which flocked to his camp, was becoming a 
serious one for Burgoyne. To bring supplies for an 
army across the Atlantic Ocean from England, up the 
St. Lawrence, up the Richelieu, through Lakes Cham- 
plain and George, and over difficult forest roads, a dis- 
tance of 3,600 miles, was the task that faced the British 
commander. In desperate need of provisions he deter- 
mined to attempt the capture of the American stores at 
Bennington. A description of the battle that followed 
does not come within the scope of this book, but it re- 
sulted disastrously for the British arms. Not only did 
Burgoyne fail in his quest for supplies, but the Ameri- 
cans killed or disabled a considerable number of his sol- 
diers, and he lost prestige, thereby encouraging the peo- 
ple in the country roundabout to flock to the American 
standard in ever increasing numbers. To add to his 
troubles his Indian allies became unmanageable. 



224 A History of Lake Champlain 

The plans laid by Lord George Germaine, secretary 
of state for the colonies, provided that Burgoyne should 
advance as far as Albany. Orders were written direct- 
ing Gen. William Howe, a brother of Lord Howe, 
killed near Lake George in the French and Indian War, 
and of Admiral Lord Howe who succeeded to the title, to 
go up the Hudson from New York and join Burgoyne at 
that place. After they were written his lordship went 
to Kent on a visit, and upon his return he forgot to sign 
the orders, which were pigeon-holed until May 18, 1777. 
They did not reach Howe until Aug. 16, when he had left 
on an expedition to Chesapeake Bay, and it was then too 
late to attempt a junction of forces at Albany. 

Schuyler was superseded as commander of the Nor- 
thern American army, by Gates and General Lincoln 
was called to his aid. Burgoyne was soon hemmed in, 
his communications were cut, and his army was in immi- 
nent danger of starvation. His last dispatches were sent 
from Fort Edward during the first week in September. 

Reidesel and Fraser favored a retreat toward Lake 
George and Ticonderoga, but it was too late to retreat. 
The army that had advanced up Lake Champlain so 
proudly in the early summer, with music and banners, 
was now compelled to fight for its life, was defeated in a 
series of battles, and was obliged to surrender on Oct. 17. 

George the Third had erred in his jubilant remark to 
his Queen regarding the victory on Lake Champlain. He 
had not "beaten all the Americans" when Ticonderoga 
was taken. 

With Burgoyne's downfall, the British troops sta- 
tioned on Lakes George and Champlain, with the excep- 
tion of one or two small posts near the northern border, 
hastily retreated to Canada. Near the mouth of the 



A History of Lake Champlain 225 

Boquet River the rear guard was overtaken and attacked 
by Capt. Ebenezer Allen, who captured 49 men, a large 
amount of baggage and military stores, about 100 horses, 
and some cattle. Among Allen's prisoners was Dinah 
Mattis, a Negro slave, and her infant child. Allen gave 
her a written certificate of emancipation, which was re- 
corded in the town clerk's office at Bennington, in which 
the Green Mountain captain set forth that he was "con- 
scientious that it is not right in the sight of God to keep 
slaves." This was the first recorded emancipation doc- 
ument in Vermont, preceding the adoption cf the con- 
stitution which prohibited slavery in the State. 

Major Wait took possession of Mount Independence 
but found that the British had sunk their boats, spiked 
or broken their cannon, and burned barracks, houses, and 
bridges. The Americans did not attempt to reoccupy 
Ticonderoga, and the British continued to control the 
lake. 

It is difficult at the present time to imagine the ef- 
fect of the American reverses suffered in Canada, and of 
Burgoyne's invasion, upon the scattered settlements in 
the valley of Lake Champlain. The possession of Crown 
Point and Ticonderoga, and the mastery of the lake, 
meant at least comparative safety to these isolated 
farms and little hamlets. With this protection sud- 
denly removed, all seemed lost. 

As Burgoyne came sweeping up the lake, demand- 
ing allegiance and submission, most of the settlers in the 
exposed districts abandoned the clearings that had been 
won at such cost from the primeval forest, buried their 
treasures, pitifully few, but none the less highly prized, 
and fled. Some of the men from these lonely house- 
holds were in the American army, summoned to defend 



226 A History of Lake Champlain 

Ticonderoga, the gateway to the north. Like hunted 
creatures before a prairie fire these settlers poured out of 
the valleys and down the mountain slopes — some of the 
fugitives being men, but more of them women and little 
children, and babes in arms — , mostly on foot, hurrying 
southward through the pitiless forest, in mortal terror of 
the ever present and awful danger of the tomahawk and 
scalping'knife of the savage foe. At Rutland and Ben- 
nington they converged like little rivulets in a larger 
stream. Some of them remained in the stronger settle- 
ments, but many pressed on to the refuge of the old 
homes in Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

In all the three centuries of recorded history in 
the Champlain valley, there is hardly a chapter that ap- 
peals so powerfully to the sympathetic imagination of 
the reader as this record of the stripping bare of the north 
country settlements by he terror induced by he ap- 
proach of General Burgoyne and his savage allie , led by 
the ferocious La Corne St. Luc. It is difficult — it is well 
nigh impossible — for hose who dwel to-day in ease and 
safety to picture this flight of the pioneers, as in poverty 
and in sorrow, in hunger and in pain, they stumbled 
along the blind forest trails, listening for the dreaded 
warwhoop, spurred en by the ever present fear that 
death, or worse, always followed close behind. 

In time, when the immediate peril had passed, 
many returned to the abandoned homesteads, there to 
lay anew the foundations of the towns and cities that 
flourish to-day; but the haunting memories of this 
awful experience lingered long in their minds, and while 
the war still dragged slowly on there were families that 
never lay down to sleep without first concealing their 
most precious possessions, fearing that out of the dark- 



A History of Lake Champlain 227 

ness might come a sudden foray of the dreaded foe. 
Thus there "came out of great tribulation" the men and 
women who planted states in the wilderness. 



228 A History of Lake Cham plain 



CHAPTER XII 
THE COMING OF PEACE. 

With the surrender of Burgoyne, the important mili- 
tary and naval operations of the Revolutionary War on 
Lake Champlain ended. 

In the summer of 1777 Moses Pierson, of Shelburne, 
raised a large crop of wheat, and soon after it was har- 
vested he and other settlers were obliged to abandon 
their farms. In January, 1778, Pierson, his family, 
and a few men returned to thresh the wheat. Being 
menaced by Tories and Indians, aid was asked -of the 
Vermont authorities and Capt. Thomas Sawyer, Lieut. 
Barnabas Barnum, Corporal Williams, and fourteen sol- 
diers were sent through the woods from Clarendon to 
Shelburne. No attack was made for several weeks. 
It is claimed that a Tory named Philo went to Canada 
on skates and informed the British authorities of the 
exposed position of the party at Shelburne. 

Pierson's log house had been strongly barricaded. 
On the night of March 12 a party of fifty-seven men, 
apparently Indians, although it is supposed that some 
were white men in disguise, attacked the Pierson house 
and a desperate fight was waged for about two hours. 
Almost at the first fire Joshua Woodard and a man named 
Daniels, who had come to Shelburne to buy wheat, were 
killed, others being wounded. Several attempts were 
made to burn the house. Some of the occupants 
sallied forth at the first attempt and extinguished the 



A History of Lake Champlain 229 

flames. When the second fire was started there was no 
water with which to extinguish it. Mrs. Pierson had 
made a barrel of beer the day before the attack and this 
beverage was used to put out the fire. 

The attack was successfully repelled The enemy 
lost one officer and one Indian chief. Other dead are 
said to have been thrown into the 'ake through a crack 
in the ice, or carried to Canada. Two prisoners were 
taken. Captain Sawyer cut f om the nose of the dead 
chieftain his jewels and also secured a powder horn and 
bullet pouch as trophies. 

Two sons of Moses Pierson, Ziba and Uzal, lads 
aged respectively 15 and 17 years, took an active part 
in the defence. An infant daughter, lying on the bed 
escaped unhurt, although several bullets were found in 
the bed and others passed through the head-board. 
This daughter later became Mrs. Nehemiah Pray. 

By order of the Vermont Council of Safety Capts. 
Ebenezer Allen and Isaac Clark were ordered to relieve 
Captain Sawyer at Shelburne, and to take pet at Fort 
William, on Otter Creek. The Pierson family went to 
Orwell. The two sons, Ziba and Uzal, and an elderly 
man, took the cattle into the Shoreham forests to browse 
on the leaves of the trees. Here the men were surprised 
by a scouting party from Canada seeking Moses Pierson, 
for whom a large reward had been offered, dead or alive, 
as a notorious rebel. The three captives were taken 
to a prison on the bank of the St. Lawrence. The 
man captured was never heard from again, but the boys 
succeeded in escaping, and after suffering great pri- 
vations returned to Vermont, looking like walking skele- 
tons when they reached home. 



230 A History of Lake Champlain 

In the fall of the year 1777 General Gates, head of 
the Board of War determined that another Canadian 
invasion was feasible . At first General Stark was chosen 
leader of the expedition, but later Lafayette was sub- 
stituted. This distinguished French officer came to 
Albany, Feb. 17, 1778. Vermont had ordered that a 
battalion of six companies of fifty men each should be 
raised under Colonel Herrick, but other troops expected 
were not forthcoming, and the project was abandoned. 

In April, 1778, Warner's regiment was ordered to 
Albany and the frontier was left with no regular troops 
for protection. A stockaded fort covering about two 
acres was built at Rutland, with a blockhouse two 
stories high, at one end. In November, 1778, a British 
force came up the lake as far as Ticonderoga, and many 
of the settlements in the Champlain valley were raided, 
Addison county suffering severely. Nearly every build- 
ing in Middlebury was destroyed except a barn built of 
green timber, which would not burn. A considerable 
number of prisoners were taken, thirty-nine being cap- 
tured in the town of Bridport. 

On March 12, 1779, the Vermont Board of War re- 
solved that "the west line of Castleton and the west and 
north lines of Pittsford to the foot of the Green Moun- 
tains be established as a line between the inhabitants of 
the state and the enemy." All the settlers north of this 
line were ordered to remove south of it and directions 
were given to build picket forts at Castleton and Pitts- 
ford. It was recommended that the women and children 
should be removed to a convenient place south of the 
forts and that the men should work their farms "in 
collective bodies, with arms". 



A History of Lake Champlain 231 

In November, 1779, another Indian raid occurred, 
which affords an illustration of the hardships endured 
by the pioneers during the Revolution. The houses of 
Capt. Thomas Tuttle and Joseph Barker, and a saw- 
mill, in Brandon, were burned by a party of the enemy 
from Canada, Mr. Barker being taken prisoner. 

Left alone with a child fourteen months old, Mrs. 
Barker started for the home of a friend three miles 
distant. Night having fallen, she was compelled to 
stop for shelter at a deserted house, where two years 
before two neighbors had been killed by the savages. 
Here, in this lonely and gruesome place, not knowing 
whether her husband was alive or dead, with no com- 
panion but a babe scarcely more than a year old, she 
gave birth to a child. The next day a searching party 
headed by Mrs. Barker's father, found her, and with 
her children, she was taken to a place of safety. Mr. 
Barker, feigning illness, escaped and soon joined his 
family. 

In May, 1780, Sir John Johnson, with a party of 
Tories and Indians, made a raid into the Mohawk 
valley. Governor Clinton hastened to Lake George 
to intercept him, and called on the Vermont officials 
for aid. Capt. Ebenezer Allen and 200 men at once 
responded. They assembled at Mount Independence 
on Lake Champlain, but lacking boats could proceed 
no farther. Johnson, however, returned by way of 
Crown Point, and avoided the American troops. 

Early in October Major Carleton came up the lake 
from St. Johns with eight large vessels, and 1,000 reg- 
ulars, loyalists, and Indians, to create a diversion in favor 
of Johnson, who attacked the Scoharie and Mohawk 
regions. Captain Chipman, with about 80 of Warner's 



232 A History of Lake Champlain 

regiment, held Fort George. Being nearly destitute 
of supplies he sent a messenger on Oct. 11 to Fort Ed- 
ward for provisions. This messenger was fired upon 
by a party of 25 men, but returned to the fort in safety. 
Supposing this to be a scouting party, Chipman sent 
out all but 14 of his men. They met the enemy not far 
from the fort and nearly every man was killed or cap- 
tured. After a short resistance Fort George was taken. 
Fort Ann was also captured. 

This attack caused the greatest alarm in the Cham- 
plain valley The Vermont militia was ordered to ren- 
dezvous at Castleton and Gen. Ethan Allen, who had 
been released from captivity in 1778, having been ex- 
changed for a British officer, was made commander, 
About this time a party of 300 men, mostly Indians, 
came up the lake as far as the mouth of the Winooski 
River, ascended that stream, crossed the Green Moun- 
tains, descended the White River, and falling upon Roy- 
alton burned that town, killing two persons, and taking 
about 30 prisoners. During the year 1781 a British 
fleet cruised about the lake and landings were made at 
Crown Point and Ticonderoga, but no aggressive ac- 
tion was taken. 

The story of the Haldimand negotiations, by means 
of which the Vermont leaders deceived the British 
authorities,leading them to believe that that State, owing 
to a dispute with New York and failure to receive re- 
cognition from Congress, might resume allegiance to the 
British crown, is too long to tell here. That the Ver- 
mont leaders cherished any treasonable designs is un- 
thinkable, when the character of the men engaged is con- 
sidered. They did succeed, however, with no troops ex- 
cept a few Vermont militia, in protecting the Cham- 



A History of Lake Champlain 233 

plain valley, and in keeping a considerable number of 
British soldiers in idleness. 

For nearly thirteen years after the war closed the 
British retained posts at Point au Fer, on the New York 
shore, and at Dutchman's Point, on the island of North 
Hero, but the soldiers never molested the inhabitants. 

In 1783, while awaiting the signing of the treaty of 
peace, Washington, with several of his officers, and 
Governor Clinton of New York, ascended the Hudson 
River and visited Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 

With the close of the Revolutionary War, the valley 
on both sides of the lake was rapidly settled, many sol- 
diers coming into this region to find homes. More than 
seventy army veterans settled in the town of Pawlet 
alone. The New York legislature, in 1781, granted 
bounties of lands to officers and soldiers who should 
enlist within a specified time. 

In 1784 Judge Zepheniah Piatt, of Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y., and thirty-two others purchased the rights to 
a township and located upon the grant formerly made 
by Great Britain to Charles de Fredenburg. This town 
of Plattsburgh originally included the present townships 
of Saranac, Schuyler's Falls, and Beekmantown, and 
parts of the old towns of Peru and Chateaugay. Among 
the prominent men who made their homes here at an 
early date were Peter Sailly, Thomas Treadwell, Mel- 
ancton Smith, Melancton L. Woolsey, and Gen. Ben- 
jamin Mooers. Plattsburgh was organized as a town 
on April 14, 1785. In 1810 the population was 3,112. 
General Mooers had begun the first permanent settle- 
ment at Beekmantown in 1783. 

In 1783 Jacques Rous settled at Rouses Point. 



234 A History of Lake Champlain 

In 1788 the town of Champlain was organized, 
a part being set off in 1804 as the town of Chazy. Peru 
was settled about 1789. In 1788 Clinton county was 
set off from Washington countv. In 1799 Essex coun- 
ty was taken from it, and in 1808 its limits were still 
farther reduced by the erection of the county of 
Franklin. 

The population of Clinton county in 1810 was 
8,032. 

In 1788 the towns of Willsboro and Crown Point 
were organized. Willsboro included the present towns 
of Chesterfield, Essex, Lewis and a part of the old town of 
Peru. Crown Point included all the region between 
Willsboro and Lake George. Elizabethtown was set- 
tled about 1785, and organized in 1801. Chesterfield 
was organized in 1802; Ticonderoga, in 1804; Essex, in 
1805; and Moriah, in 1808. The population of Essex 
county in 1810 was 9,525. 

Washington county, which was organized in 1784, 
originally included all the towns on the west side of 
Lake Champlain, but now touches the lake only on its 
northeastern corner. Whitehall was organized in 1788. 
In 1810 the town of Putnam, consisting of the tongue of 
land between Lakes Champlain and George, contained a 
population of 499. The population of Washington 
county in 1786 was 4,456 ; in 1810, it was 42,289, although 
much reduced in area, meanwhile. Returning to the 
east side of the lake, Alburgh was organized as a town in 
1792, but British loyalists settled here as early as 1782. 
Isle La Motte was chartered to Benjamin Wait and 
others in 1789. The town was organized in 1790. In 
1802 the name was changed to Vineyard, but in 1830 the 
original name of Isle La Mot e was restored. North 



A History of Lake Champlain 235 

Hero, South Hero, and Grand Isle were granted in 1779 to 
Ethan Allen, Samuel Herrick, and o hers. The settle- 
ment of North Hero was begun in 1783, and the town 
was organized in 1789. In 1784 South Hero was settled 
and in 1788 became an organized township. The settle- 
ment of Middle Hero, or Grand Isle, was begun in 1783, 
and in 1798 it was separated from South Hero as an inde- 
pendent township. 

The first settlers in Highgate were Ge mans, who 
had served in the British army during the Revolution. 
The township was first regularly surveyed in 1805. Al- 
though Swanton contained a French and Indian village, 
at an early date, the first permanent sett ement was in 
1787, the town being organized in 1790. Beginning 
with the year 1786, settlers began to come into St. Albans, 
and in 1788 the town was organized. The settlement of 
Georgia was begun in 1784, and during the next two 
years many families came from Bennington and from 
western Massachusetts, the town being organized in 1788. 
The pioneer settlers came to Mi ton in 1782, and the 
town was organized six years later. In 1783 Ira Allen 
returned to Colchester, and in that year several families 
moved to Colchester Point. The town was organized 
about 1791. Allen built mills, a forge, and an anchor 
shop at Winooski falls. 

In the spring of 1783 Stephen Lawrence brought his 
family to Burlington and other families followed the 
same year. The first town meeting was held in 1787, and 
in that year Ethan Allen moved into the town, dying two 
years later, in 1789. The University of Vermont, loca- 
ted here, was chartered in 1791 and the first building was 
begun in 1794. The first commencement was held in 
1804. As soon as the war was closed the Shelburne set- 



236 A History of Lake Champlain 

tiers returned, and in 1787, when the town was organized, 
there were twenty four families within its limits. Der- 
ick Webb, who had come to Charlotte for the first time in 
1776, returned in 1784, and others soon followed. In 
1790 McNeil's ferry between Charlotte and Essex, N. Y., 
was established. Ferrisburgh was settled in 1784, and 
organized as a town in 1786. The Panton settlers re- 
turned after the war, and organized the town in 1784. 

When the Addison settlers returned in May, 1783, 
they found that every building in town had been de- 
stroyed. Most of the inhabitants left Bridport during 
the Revolution, but returned with the advent of peace, 
and organized a town in 1784. Shoreham settlers came 
back when the danger of attacks by an armed enemy had 
passed, and others emigrated from Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. The first permanent settlement in Orwell 
was made in 1783, and four years later a town govern- 
ment was organized. 

Benson was chartered in 1780, being named in honor 
of a Revolutionary officer. A -se tlement was begun in 
1783, and the town was organized in 1786. West Haven 
was set off from Fair Haven in 1792. 

Rutland county was incorporated in 1781; Chit- 
tenden county, in 1782; Addison county, in 1787; and 
Franklin county, in 1792. The first twenty-five years 
following the declaration of peace was a period of rapid 
growth in the lake counties of Vermont. The popula- 
tion of Rutland county in 1790 was 15,591 ; in 1810, 29,- 
486. Chittenden county contained 7,295 people in 1790; 
in 1810 it reported a population of 18,120. The popu- 
lation of Addison county was 6,449 in 1790; in 1810 it 
was 19,993. Franklin county was not organized in 1790 



A History of Lake Cham plain 237 

but in 1800 it contained a population of 8,782; in 1810 
he number returned was 16,427. 

Thus it will be seen that n 1810, a little more than 
a quarter of a century following the signing of the first 
treaty of peace with Great Britain, the lake counties of 
Vermont contained a to al population of 84,026, the lake 
countie of New York, including Washington, a total of 
59,846 inhabitants, making an aggregate population of 
143,872 for the entire Champlain valley. 

The period between the first and second wars with 
Gnat Britain was one of remarkable growth for this 
region, a the census figures quoted prove, so that in 
twenty-five years what was chiefly an unsettled wilder- 
ness at the beginning of that period had become a land of 
prosperous farms and thriving villages. 

The embargo act, growing out of the British com- 
plications, which shut out foreign goods, led to wide- 
spread smuggling on the Lake Champlain frontier, 
and in 1808 a serious affray occurred on the Winooski 
River between customs officials and smuggler.-, on board 
a craft known as the Black Snake, which had operated 
in Missisquoi Bay. The violators of the revenue law 
were captured af.er Jonathan Ormsby and A a Marsh, 
of he government service had been killed. Cyrus B. 
Dean of Swanton, was found guilty of murder, and exe- 
cuted on Nov. 11, 1808, seven other men being sentenced 
to prison terms. Franklin county was the scene during 
this period of many similar encounters of a less sensa- 
tional nature 



238 A History of Lake Champlain 



CHAPTER XIII. 
BEGINNING OF THE WAR OF 1812. 

Long before the War of 1812 actually was begun 
the course of events pointed to another conflict between 
the United States and Great Britain. Early in January, 
1809, Lieut. Melancton Woolsey was ordered to build 
two gunboats on Lake Champlain. In February, 1809, 
a British emissary, John Henry, sent into New England 
to ascertain how far the members of the Federalist party 
would go toward separation from the Union, visited 
Burlington, but he found no evidence of any serious 
disloyalty to the government. 

The opening of the year 1812 found Lake Chain- 
plain a commercial thoroughfare surrounded by well- 
cultivated farms, an entirely different country from that 
of the Revolutionary War period. Plattsburgh, with 
more than 3,000 inhabitants, and Burlington, with nearly 
2,000, were growing, enterprising villages, centres of 
trade for large areas of country in the States of New 
York and Vermont, respectively. 

President James Madison issued his proclamation 
of war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812. In Octo- 
ber of that year the Vermont legislature pledged 
its support to the national government by a vote of 128 
to 79, and prohibited all intercourse with Canada without 
the Governor's permission under a penalty of $7,000 
fine and seven years' imprisonment at hard labor. New 



A History of Lake Champlain 239 

York state also heartily endorsed the policy of Madison's 
administration. 

Not long before the formal declaration of war, Col. 
Isaac Clark, of the Eleventh U. S. Infantry, a veteran 
of the Revolution, known as "Old Rifle" among the 
Green Mountain Boys, and a son-in-law of Gov. Thomas 
Chittenden, was ordered to Burlington to make ready 
for the impending conflict. He purchased for govern- 
ment purposes two five acres lots on a bluff overlooking 
the lake, a tract including the present site of Battery 
Park. Little more was done at Burlington during the 
summer of that year. 

Gen. Joseph Bloomfield was ordered to Lake Cham- 
plain and by September 1st he had assembled an army 
of 8,000 men on the west shore of the lake, wi}h head- 
quarters at Plattsburgh and outposts at Chazy and 
Champlain. Under Gen. Henry Dearborn, commander- 
in-chief of the army, a Revolutionary veteran and a for- 
mer secretary of war, a forward movement was made on 
Nov. 16, and with 3,000 regulars and 2,000 militia, 
he encamped about half a mile south of the Canadian 
border. An advance was made on the outposts of La- 
colle, Que., but before daylight, on the morning of 
Nov. 20, two American detachments fired on each 
other for nearly half an hour before the discovery was 
made that both parties were Americans. Five men were 
killed and five were wounded. After this inglorious affair 
the troops returned to Champlain. 

The Sixth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth regiments of 
United States troops went into winter quarters at Platts- 
burgh under command of Col. Zebulon Pike, the well 
known explorer, who discovered and gave his name to 
Pike's Peak, in the Rocky Mountains. In the fall of 



240 A History of Lake Champlain 

1812 four infantry regiments were sent to Burlington, 
the Ninth, Eleventh, Twenty-first, and Twenty-fifth, 
Gen. John Chandler commanding. They went into 
winter quarters, remaining until March 25, 1813, when 
a threatened attack on Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., made 
it necessary to send Chandler's brigade to that place. 
The troops were transported across the lake on the ice 
and overland to their destination in 300 sleighs, the 
necessary teams being impressed from Vermont farmers 
It is related that members of the Federalist party com 
plained that it was hardly consistent to impress them- 
selves and their teams into service to help carry on a 
war begun to avenge the impressment of American sea- 
men by British sea captains. 

• When war was declared the American naval force 
on Lake Champlain consisted of two gunboats built in 
1808. These boats were at Basin Harbor, on the east side 
of the lake, one being partly sunk with seams open al- 
most wide enough to admit a man's hand. On Sept. 
12, 1812, Lieut. Thomas Macdonough, then only 
28 years old, who had won distinction under Decatur, 
was ordered by President Madison from Portland, Me., 
to Burlington, to take command of the American fleet 
on Lake Champlain. Starting on horseback, his only 
attendant being a country lad who returned with the 
horse, he arrived at Burlington after a four days' jour- 
ney, and assumed command of naval affairs. 

After consulting with General Dearborn at Pitts- 
burgh he went to Whitehall on Oct. 13 and began 
to fit two gunboats and the sloops Hunter and Bull Dog 
for service. Those vessels unfit for active service were 
retained as transports. There were two other sloops on 
the lake, the President and the Montgomery; but Hon. 



A History of Lake Champlain 241 

Charles H. Darling, for several years assistant secre- 
tary of the navy, in a paper on Macdonough read lie- 
fore the Vermont Historical Society, declared that these 
vessels were not in the regular fleet, probably being under 
the control of the war department. Rodney Macdon- 
ough, a grandson of the American naval commander," in 
his "Life of Commodore Thomas Macdonough," says 
that Dearborn gave up the command of the President 
during the fall and that it was included by Macdonough 
in a report to the navy department December 20. 

Before Macdonough's arrival, Lieut. Sidney Smith 
was in command of the few war vessels on the lake and 
General Dearborn had under his control six transports, 
the command of which he turned over with reluctance 
A sloop called the Rising Sun was purchased later and 
rechristened the Preble. A steamboat also was bought 
and named the Ticonderoga, but her engines did not 
work in a satisfactory manner and she was refitted as 
as a schooner. At the close of the season of 1812, "my 
poor forlorn looking squadron" as Macdonough de- 
scribed his fleet, went into winter quarters at Shelburne. 

Obtaining a leave of absence at the close of the 
season of 1812, Macdonough went to Middletown, Conn., 
where, on Dec. 12, he married Miss Lucy Ann 
Shaler, daughter of Nathaniel Shaler, who in his youth 
had been a Tory. Macdonough brought his bride, an 
attractive and talented young woman, to Burlington, 
where the couple spent the winter. The American com- 
mander devoted his time to putting his fleet into better 
condition. Fifteen ship carpenters were sent from New 
York in February, 1813, and in March carronades, gun 
carriages and ammunition were sent to Whitehall to be 
forwarded to Shelburne when navigation opened. The 



242 A History of Lake Champlain 

sloops Hunter and Bull Dog were remodeled so as to 
carry eleven guns each instead of seven, and they were 
renamed the Growler and the Eagle. The President 
was the flagship during the whole of the year 1813. 

In April Macdonough sailed out of Shelburne har- 
bor with the sloop, President, 12 guns; the sloop Growler, 
commanded by Lieut. Sidney Smith, 11 guns; the sloop 
Eagle, commanded by Sailing Master Jairus Loomis, 
11 guns; and two gunboats, each carrying 2 guns. About 
April 25 the three sloops were at Plattsburgh. 

During the month of June Macdonough received 
orders from Secretary of the Navy Jones, which in- 
cluded the following admonition: "You are to under- 
stand that upon no account are you to suffer the enemy 
to gain the ascendency on Lake Champlain." 

During the first week of June, 1813, a British force 
was reported to be annoying both shores of the lake 
and Lieut. Sidney Smith was ordered to proceed against 
the enemy with theGrowler and the Eagle. Macdonough's 
flagship, the President, had been run ashore and dam- 
aged and he remained to make repairs. The crews were 
mostly recruited from Captain Herrick's company of 
McCobb's Maine regiment, who were chiefly lumber- 
men from the seacoast towns. 

Lieutenant Smith left Plattsburgh on June 2, anchor- 
ing for the night near the international boundary. Very 
early the next morning, without orders, and contrary 
to Macdonough's advice, he proceeded down the Riche- 
lieu River as far as Isle aux Tetes, or Ash Island, where 
he sighted and chased three British gunboats. With a 
strong south wind blowing, Isle aux Noix was soon ap- 
proached. The fortifications here were too strong to 
attack and afforded protection for the gunboats. The 



A History of Lake Champlain 243 

Growler and the Eagle now attempted to beat back 
against the adverse wind and the swift current, a diffi- 
cult task. 

' The enemy, seeing the plight of the American boats, 
sent out row galleys, armed with more powerful guns 
than those carried by Smith's craft. About 200 or 300 
men were distributed along both shores of the river, by 
the British commandant, and a brisk musket fire was 
opened. After a battle lasting several hours a 24-pound 
shot struck the port bow of the Eagle, and passing 
obliquely through the ship, tore off three planks from 
her starboard side below the water line. The boat im- 
mediately sank, but in shallow water, and the crew 
were taken off by boats sent from shore. A little later, 
about 11 :15 o'clock, a 24-pound shot struck the Growler's 
mast, rendering the sloop unmanageable. Her ammuni- 
tion was exhausted and she was run ashore where she 
was captured. On the Growler, one man was killed and 
eight men were wounded; on the Eagle, eleven were 
wounded. The British loss is said to have been severe. 
The captured officers and crews, numbering 112 men, 
were sent as prisoners to Montreal and later to Halifax. 
Lieutenant Smith and two companions escaped from 
jail at Quebec by making a rope of strips of carpet and 
letting themselves down from an attic window, but they 
were soon recaptured. A court of inquiry investigated 
the capture of the boats and exonerated Lieutenant 
Smith. 

The Growler and the Eagle were refitted and re- 
christened the Broke and the Shannon. Macdonough, 
with the President and two gunboats, retired to Bur- 
lington. 



244 A History of Lake Champlain 

The British force on the lake, with this success, 
was superior to that commanded by Macdonough, and 
great alarm was created by rumors that an army 6,000 
strong was to be sent into the Champlain valley from 
Canada. Col. Isaac Clark called upon the militia to 
rally to the defence of the exposed frontier, and also 
appealed to the men who had passed the age when they 
were subject to military service. As a result of this 
appeal a "Burlington Corps of Exempts" was organ- 
ized, containing 57 men. According to the late Hon. 
G. G. Benedict, "this roll comprised prominent jurists, 
lawyers, physicians, bankers, merchants, and others of 
the first citizens of Burlington of that day". The two 
Burlington militia companies, commanded by Capt. 
Moses Jewett and Capt. Guy Catlin, respectively, and 
the "Corps of Exempts," were ordered, on June 10, to 
be ready for immediate service. 

Three days later, on June 13, 1813, five companies 
of the Thirteenth U. S. Infantry, comprising 550 men 
under command of Major Phelps, and a detachment of 
United States Artillery with two 24-pound guns, arrived. 
The artillery was commanded by Lieut. Sylvester Chur- 
chill, recently graduated from the United States 
Military Academy, a native of Vermont, who was in- 
spector general of the army at the opening of the Civil 
War, inl861. 

Under the direction of Lieutenant Churchill what 
is now called the Battery was fortified. From fields a 
mile or two distant, sods were brought with which a 
parapet containing thirteen embrasures was built. A 
regiment raised near Burlington, containing 500 men 
and commanded by Colonel Williams, arrived June 16, 
and encamped on a plateau near the Battery. On June 



A History of Lake Champlain 245 

20, the Fourth U. S. Infantry, 700 strong, commanded 
by Lieut-. Col. John Dorrington, arrived from Boston; 
also a detachment of regular troops under Lieut. -Col. 
Martin Norton, bringing four pieces of heavy artillery. 

A little later a regiment from Windsor county, under 
Col. Daniel Dana, and more heavy artillery arrived. 

It is related that desertions were frequent, and that 
on June 21 eight deserters, who had been tried by court 
martial and sentenced to death, were brought forth in 
the presence of a great concourse of people, to be exe- 
cuted. The troops were formed in a hollow square. 
Colonel Clark was within this square, seated on a white 
horse, and the condemned men being brought before him. 
were solemnly warned not to repeat the offence, and then 
were pardoned. A little later John Cummings of the 
Fourth U. S. Infantry, blindfolded and kneeling on his 
coffin, was shot as a deserter. General Thomas Parker 
of Virginia, arrived on July 1, 1813, and relieved Col- 
onel Clark of the command. There were encamped at 
Burlington on July 6, about 3,000 men, comprising the 
Second battalion of the Fourth U. S. Infantry, six com- 
panies of the Eleventh Infantry, recruited in Vermont, 
the Twenty-ninth Infantry, the Thirtieth Infantry, re- 
cruited in Vermont, the Thirty-first Infantry, two troops 
of cavalry and two companies of artillery. Wooden bar- 
racks for the men were erected between Pearl and North 
streets, extending north and south, and several small 
story-and-a-half cottages were built at the lower end of 
Pearl street for officers' quarters. 

Gen. Wade Hampton, grandfather of the Wade 
Hampton prominent as a Confederate cavaLy officer and 
United States senator from South Carolina, arrived at 
Burlington on July 30, and assumed command. Re- 



246 A History of Lake Champlain 

turns for Aug. 2 show that the army under Hampton's 
control consisted of 140 dragoons, 90 artillerymen, 3,017 
regular infantry, and 806 militia, a total of 4,053 men. 
Of this number 557 were reported sick, and 327 absent. 
Gen. James Wilkinson had been assigned to the com- 
mand of the Northern department. 

Macdonough endeavored to repair the damage sus- 
tained by the loss of the Growler and the Eagle, and act- 
ing under the authority given him he purchased two 
sloops and fitted them out at Burlington. Secretary of 
the Navy Jones ordered the navy agent at New York to 
forward the guns which Macdonough needed, adding, 
that "the critical state of things on Lake Champlain by 
the unfortunate loss of the Growler and the Eagle renders 
great exertions necessary in order to regain command of 
that lake." A number of ship carpenters were hired at 
New York and Captain Evans of the Brooklyn Navy 
Yard was ordered to send 100 sailors to Lake Champlain. 
It was so difficult to obtain men for his ships that Mac- 
donough informed General Hampton early in July that 
it was his intention temporarily to dismantle and lay up 
the two gunboats until crews could be secured. 

On July 30 Col. John Murray, with over 1,400 Brit- 
ish troops and marines on two sloops, the Broke and the 
Shannon, three gunboats, and forty-seven bateaux, 
crossed the international boundary line, and on Saturday, 
July 31, he destroyed the blockhouse, arsenal, armory, 
hospital, and a military cantonment near Fredenburgh 
Falls, two miles from the village of Plattsburgh. Three 
private storehouses were burned. Hardware belonging 
to Boston merchants, valued at $200,000, and other pri- 
vate property to the amount of $8,000, formed part of 
the booty. Dwellings were broken open by soldiers and 



A History of Lake Champlain 247 

their contents carried away, it is said in the presence of 
British officers, although Colonel Murray had promised 
that private property should be protected. The public 
property destroyed was valued at $25,000. At this time 
no regular troops were stationed at Plattsburgh. On 
Sunday morning, Aug. 1, Murray completed his task and 
embarked hastily, leaving behind a picket guard of 21 
men. These soldiers were taken prisoners and were sent 
to Burlington. It is claimed that news of the British ap- 
proach was sent to General Hampton, at Burlington, 
twenty-four hours before the attack, but he failed to send 
any aid. 

Houses were plundered at Cumberland Head and a 
store was burned at Chazy Landing. 

On Monday morning, Aug. 2, the Broke, command- 
ed by Capt. Thomas Everard, the Shannon, under Capt. 
Daniel Pring, and one gunboat, appeared off Burlington 
"to observe the state of the enemy's force there and to 
afford him an opportunity of deciding the naval superi- 
ority of the lake," as Everard reported the following day 
to Sir George Prevost. Macdonough's ships were in no 
condition to do battle with the British squadron. Two 
sloops were in the hands of the carpenters, one being 
without a mast. One sloop was fit for duty, in addition 
to which there were two small gunboats, each carrying a 
12-pounder, and two or three scows. These craft were 
anchored under the protection of the battery on the bluff. 

At 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon the British ships 
approached Burlington, it being supposed that they in- 
tended, if possible, to destroy three public storehouses 
erected on the wharf. When about a mile and a half 
fronrshore a cannonade was begun, the fire being re- 
turned by the battery under Lieut. Churchill by Mac- 



248 A History of Lake Champlain 

donough's ships, and by Captain Chapell of the artillery, 
who had loaded two 12-pounders on a scow, the skirmish 
lasting twenty minutes. Having received several shots 
from the American guns, the British ships drew off to- 
ward the south. 

Some of Macdonough's ships followed for two miles, 
but did not venture farther, as it was believed that other 
vessels were in hiding ready to attack, returning two 
hours later to their anchorage under the guns of the land 
battery. The British ships proceeded south about ten 
miles, captured and destroyed four small sailing vessels, 
and returned northward the next morning with a small 
sloop laden with flour, taken near Shelburne, and two or 
three ferry boats as prizes. 

No damage of importance was done at Burlington. 
A story is told to the effect that a ball entered a house and 
shattered a bureau at which Macdonough was shaving, 
whereupon that officer shook his fist at the enemy's ships 
and exclaimed: "I'll pay you for this some time." 
This tale is very improbable, and Rodney Macdonough 
well says that had a bombardment been in progress his 
distinguished ancestor "would probably have been at- 
tending to more important ma ters than shaving him- 
self." 

At the same time that this raid was made upon 
Plattsburgh ansd Burlington, the exact date being a 
matter of dispute, two British gunboats and some of the 
bateaux entered Maquam Bay, on the Swanton shore. 
About 600 soldiers landed at what was known as the 
Manzer place, and compelled Mr. Manzer, then an old 
man, to act as guide to Swanton. A part of this force 
was ferried over the Missisquoi River, the others re- 
maining at the riverside. Troops had been stationed at 



A History of Lake Champlain 249 

Swanton in 1810 and 1811 to aid in enforcing the revenue 
laws. In 1812 barracks had been erected, built in the 
form of a crescent, east of the park, or "green", and there 
was a parade ground northwest of the barracks. From 
July 12 to Dec. 8, 1812, eight companies of the First 
Vermont militia under command of Colonel Williams 
were stationed here, being discharged on the latter date. 
Soon after, Colonel Fifield's regiment was ordered to 
Swanton, where they remained five or six weeks and 
then left, only to be sent back a little later to spend the 
winter of 1812-13 in quarters at this place. Early in the 
summer of 1813 the troops were ordered away, and when 
the British approached the government stores and 
property were unprotected. The barracks and all gov- 
ernment property that could be found were burned, but 
there was no interference with private property, and af- 
ter spending a few hours the soldiers departed, the entire 
British force retiring to Canada. 

On July 24, 1813, Macdonough was promoted from 
the rank of lieutenant to that of master commandant and 
he was generally called commodore, although no >uch 
rank had been conferred upon him. 

General Wilkinson, writing from Sacketts Harbor, 
N. Y., on Aug. 30, 1813, to the secretary of war, sug- 
gested that General Hampton, who was at Burlington, 
should without delay, "cross the Champlain and com- 
mence his movements toward St. Johns, taking the Isle 
aux Noix in his route, or not, as circumstances might 
justify." In compliance with this suggestion Hampton 
was ordered to proceed directly against Isle aux Noix. 
He consulted with Macdonough on Sept. 7 regarding the 
feasibility of a joint land and naval attack. The naval 
commander feared that to enter the narrow channel of 



250 A History of Lake Champlain 

the Richelieu River would invite a disaster similar to 
that which had overtaken the Growler and the Eagle 
under Lieutenant Smith near Isle auxNoix. He believed 
he could maintain the mastery of the lake, that being his 
chief duty, and he declined toco-operate with Hampton, 
a decision that called forth criticism from the secretary 
of war. 

By great diligence Macdonough had made his fleet 
ready for action by Aug. 20. Fifty men to aid in man- 
ning the ships reached Burlington on Aug. 19, and about 
200 more, with some officers, arrived early in September. 
General Hampton loaned him enough soldiers to com- 
plete the force needed for handling his fleet, and on Sep- 
tember 6 Macdonough sailed for Plattsburgh with the 
following vessels: The sloop President, the flagship, 10 
guns; the sloop Preble, 9 guns; the sloop Montgomery, 9 
guns; the sloop Frances, 5 guns; the sloop Wasp, 3 guns; 
two gunboats, each armed with a long 12 -pounder. The 
Frances and the Wasp, small craft, which had sailed 
badly, had been hired, and were used as armed tenders. 
This fleet was augmented on Oct. 9 by two more gun- 
boats, built at Plattsburgh. They were constructed at 
the north end of the lake owing to the difficulty of navi- 
gation, the water being three feet lower than ever known 
before, it was said. When Macdonough left Burlington 
on Sept. 6 it was with the intention of seeking a British 
squadron of two sloops and three gunboats that had been 
reported to be just north of Plattsburgh. He found 
them near the boundary line, but as the American ships 
approached, the fleet of the enemy withdrew down the 
Richelieu. Macdonough declined to be drawn into the 
river and returned to Plattsburgh. 



A History of Lake Champlain 251 

Having assembled a force of 4,000 men including a 
body of New York militia, at Cumberland Head for an 
attack upon the British posts in the valley of the Riche- 
lieu, General Hampton left for the north on Sept. 19 in 
bateaux, convoyed by the fleet. Arriving at Chazy at 
midnight the soldiers lay on their arms, and soon after 
sunrise embarked again. Entering the Big Chazy 
River, the army ascended that stream four miles, as far 
as the rapids at Champlain, where a landing was made. 
A squadron of horse and two companies of artillery 
joined Hampton's force here, and the army proceeded to 
Odelltown, Que. After a day's stay, learning that the 
water supply was short, owing to an extreme drouth, 
Hampton changed his plans, and decided to advance to- 
ward Montreal by way of Chateaugay. Returning to 
Champlain on Sept. 21, he advanced to Chateaugay 
Four Corners on Sept. 24, where he remained for twenty- 
six days. On Oct. 20 he crossed the border and attacked 
a small body of British troops, being defeated with a loss 
of thirty-five men killed and wounded. A few days 
later the army broke camp and returned to Plattsburgh, 
going into winter quarters at that place. 

While Hampton was encamped at Chateaugay, Col. 
Isaac Clark, in command at Champlain, was ordered to 
make a diversion on the border. With 110 men he left 
Champlain on the evening of Oct. 11 and crossed to the 
village of Missisquoi Bay, Que. (Philipsburg), where a 
small British force under Major Powell was stationed. 
Advancing in double quick time, Clark ordered the Brit- 
ish soldiers, hastily drawn up near the guard house, to 
lay down their arms. Taken by surprise, and believing 
from Clark's boldness that he was supported by a large 
force, Major Powell obeyed the summons. The main 



252 A History of Lake Cham plain 

body of the enemy, however, did not yield, and prepared 
to charge; but a well directed volley from the Americans 
cut down the captain and several soldiers, whereupon the 
rest threw down their arms and surrendered. 

Captain Finch was directed to keep on the lookout 
for a body of 200 of the enemy under Colonel Lock, which 
was reported to be approaching. An advance guard of 
cavalry was surprised and the remainder retreated. The 
British loss was nine killed and fourteen wounded. 
Clark took his prisoners, numbering 101 men, to Bur- 
lington. 

About the middle of December a British force under 
Captain Barker crossed the Vermont line and destroyed 
some public storehouses and barracks at Derby, Vt. 

On Dec. 4 a force of 400 British under Captain 
Pring, in six large galleys, landed at Cumberland Head 
and burned an empty storehouse. Seeing the smoke of 
the burning building, Macdonough's fleet started in 
pursuit of the enemy. Four galleys under the command 
of Lieut. Stephen Cassin were directed to bring Pring's 
ships into action, if possible, thus allowing the sloops to 
come up. The British refused battle, however, their 
superior number of sweeps enabling them to keep the 
lead. After following the retreating foe for three hours 
the pursuit was abandoned. A little later, on Dec. 21, 
the American fleet went into winter quarters at Ver- 
gennes, on the Otter Creek. 

Soon after General Hampton's departure from Bur- 
lington, in September, Gen. Alexander Macomb was 
assigned to the command at that place. 

The Ninth, Eleventh, Twenty-first and Twenty-fifth 
regiments were ordered to Burlington from Plattsburgh, 
and the third brigade of the third division of the Vermont 



A History of Lake Champlain 253 

militia under Colonel Fassett were called out for three 
months, being reviewed at Burlington by Gov. Martin 
Chittenden. This addition to the army at Burlington 
made more extensive quarters necessary for the winter. 
An arrangement was made whereby the main college 
building of the University of Vermont, a large four story 
brick structure, was used for army barracks, upon pay- 
ment of an annual rental of $5,000. 

Nathan B. Haswell was acting commissary at Bur- 
lington, and he gave up his business building in the vil- 
lage for an army storehouse. The cellar was trans- 
formed into a great vat with a capacity of 300 barrels, 
where beef was salted for the use of the troops. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Haswell the army rations at that time 
consisted of a pound and a half of beef, or three-quarters 
of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread or flour, a 
gill of rum, whiskey, or brandy; with two quarts of salt, 
four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and a pound 
and a half of candles for each one hundred rations. Re- 
garding the heavy mortality among the troops at Bur- 
lington Mr. Haswell said: "Several hundred died 
weekly, and it was not uncommon to find that twenty 
had died in a night." 

Martin Chittenden, a Federalist, was elected gov- 
ernor of Vermont by the legislature in 1813, no choice 
having been made by the people. His party did not look 
with favor upon the war and objected to the use of the 
militia outside the state. When General Izard had been 
withdrawn from Plattsburgh by order of the secretary of 
war to join General Wilkinson, the third brigade of the 
third division of the Vermont militia, under Lieut. Col. 
Luther Dixon, was sent across the lake to take the place, 
in part, of the regulars ordered away. 



254 A History of Lake Champlain 

On Nov. 10, 1813, Governor Chittenden issued a 
proclamation ordering these troops to return to the State, 
and to hold themselves in readiness to act under the orders 
of Gen. Jacob Davis, claiming that "an extensive section 
of our own Frontier is left unprotected, "and that the 
citizens were "exposed to the retaliatory incursions and 
ravages of an exasperated enemy." He closed the proc- 
lamation by declaring that in his opinion "the Military 
strength and resources of this State must be reserved for 
its own defence and protection exclusively excepting in 
cases provided for by the Constitution of the U. States; 
and then, under orders derived only from the Comman- 
der-in-chief." 

Colonel Dixon and seventeen of his officers replied 
in a vigorous statement, said to have been written by 
Capt. Sanford Gadcomb, of St. Albans, which was, in 
part, as follows: "With due deference to your Excel- 
lency's opinion, we humbly conceive, that when we are 
ordered into the service of the United States, it becomes 
our duty, when required, to march to the defence of any 
section of the Union. We are not of that class who be- 
lieve that our duties as citizens or soldiers are circum- 
scribed within the narrow limits of the Town or State in 
which we reside, but that we are under a paramount 
obligation to our common country, to the great confed- 
eration of States. We further conceive that, while we 
are in actual service, and during the period for which we 
were ordered into service, your Excellency's power over 
us as Governor of the State of Vermont, is suspended. 
* * * Viewing the subject in this light, we conceive it our 
duty to declare unequivocally to your Excellency, that 
we shall not obey your Excellency's order for returning, 
but shall continue in the service of our country until we 



A History of Lake Champlain 255 

are legally and honorably discharged. An invitation or 
order to desert the standard of our country will never be 
obeyed by us, although it proceeds from the Governor 
and Captain General of Vermont. * * * 

"We shall take the liberty to state to your Excel- 
lency, plainly, our sentiments on this subject. We con- 
sider your proclamation as a gross insult to the officers 
and soldiers in the service, inasmuch as it implies that 
they are so ignorant of their rights as to believe that 
you have authority to command them in their present 
situation, or so abandoned as to^ follow your insidious 
advice. We cannot regard your proclamation in any 
other light, than as an unwarrantable stretch of execu- 
tive authority, issued from the worst motives, to effect 
the basest purposes. It is in our opinion a renewed in- 
stance of that spirit of disorganization and anarchy 
which is carried on by a faction to overwhelm our 
country with disgrace. We cannot perceive what other 
object your Excellency could have in view than to em- 
barrass the operations of the army, to excite mutiny and 
sedition among the soldiers and induce them to desert, 
that they might forfeit the wages to which they are en- 
titled for their patriotic services." The statement add- 
ed that even the soldiers regarded the governor's pro- 
clamation "with mingled emotions of pity and contempt 
for its author, and as a striking monument of his folly." 

It is said that the messenger sent to Plattsburgh by 
Governor Chittenden to deliver this proclamation was 
helped in ignominious fashion out of camp. The brig- 
ade remained at Plattsburgh until it was known that the 
threatened invasion from Canada had been abandoned 
for the winter. 



256 A History of Lake Champlain 

Late in December, fearing once more that an attack 
from Canada was being planned, the Plattsburgh town 
officials wrote to General Wilkinson, setting forth the 
exposed condition of public property there, and the need 
of more troops. In response to this appeal a company 
of dragoons from Burlington and a detachment of in- 
fantry from Chateaugay Four Corners were ordered 
there, the infantry reaching Plattsburgh Jan. 8, 1814, 
after a forced march of forty miles, made in one day. 
On Jan. 10 General Wilkinson arrived at that place. 

The results of the land campaign were not such as to 
add to the prestige of American arms, and Hampton and 
Wilkinson laid upon each other the blame for failure to 
make any substantial progress. 

Early in March, 1814, Major Forsyth was sent to 
the border with 300 American riflemen and 60 dragoons 
to break up an irregular intercourse that had been car- 
ried on with the British troops during the winter. Par- 
ties under General Macomb and Colonel Clark were 
sent to the Vermont frontier on a similar errand, while 
General Wilkinson planned to erect batteries in the vi- 
cinity of Rouses Point that should command the outlet 
of the lake. 

Alarmed by the American activity the British com- 
mander sent 600 men under Major Hancock to Lacolle, 
Que. and 2,000 troops were ordered to St. Johns and 
Isle aux Noix under Lieutenant Colonel Williams. Gen- 
eral Wilkinson ordered the Plattsburgh garrison to ad- 
vance to Champlain, and Macomb and Clark were 
directed to join the main body of the American troops 
there. 

On the morning of March 30 the American army, 
4,000 strong, advanced for an attack upon Lacolle. 



A History of Lake Champlain 257 

Fallen trees and snowdrifts made the roads almost im- 
passable for artillery. Major Hancock occupied a stone 
mill, which had been pierced with openings for muskets. 
The American artillery fire was without appreciable 
effect. Two British sorties were defeated, but Wilkin- 
son's attack was unsuccessful, and he retired to Odell- 
town, falling back the next day to Champlain. General 
Macomb returned to Burlington, while the main body 
of the army retired to Chazy and Plattsburgh. The 
American casualties on this expedition amounted to 104 
killed and wounded. The British gave their losses as 
10 killed and 46 wounded. 

Macdonough had chosen Vergennes as his winter 
quarters after careful deliberation. He needed a loca- 
tion protected from forays by the enemy, and accessible 
to abundant supplies of timber. Vergennes was situated 
at the head of navigation on Otter Creek, seven miles 
from its mouth. The stream was so narrow and crooked 
that a hostile fleet could not hope to make a successful 
attack. A direct road led to Burlington, 21 miles away, 
where a large body of American troops was stationed. 
Another road led to Boston, and still another to the 
south. Dead Creek and marshes protected Vergennes 
from a land attack from the west. An abundance of tim- 
ber for shipbuilding was available, and iron could be 
obtained from the neighboring town of Monkton. The 
industries of Vergennes included eight forges, a blast 
furnace, an air furnace, a rolling mill, a wire factory, 
and grist, saw, and fulling mills. Before hostilities opened 
in 1814, one thousand 32-pound cannon balls had been 
cast here for the American fleet. 

In an order issued January 28, Macdonough was 
directed to build about fifteen gunboats, or a ship, and 



258 A History of Lake Champlain 

three or four gunboats, the matter being left for him to 
decide. His instructions read: "The object is to leave 
no doubt of your commanding the lake and the waters 
connected, and that in due time. You are therefore 
authorized to employ such means and workmen as shall 
render its accomplishment certain." 

Mr. Browne, a New York shipbuilder, had agreed 
to launch a ship of 24 guns in sixty days and in the spring 
of the year 1814 the work of constructing several vessels 
was begun in earnest. In five and one-half days 110 men 
had cut and forwarded timber for three ships. The trees 
were standing in the forest on March 2. The Saratoga's 
keel was laid on March 7, and on April 11 she was 
launched, forty days from the time her timbers stood 
as growing trees on a Vermont hillside. 

While the ships were being built at Vergennes, Gen- 
eral Wilkinson was apprehensive of a British attack 
upon Plattsburgh, Burlington, and Vergennes, and on 
April 9 he ordered General Macomb, who was stationed 
at Burlington, to request Governor Chittenden to call 
out the Vermont militia, not only to protect the ship- 
ping on Otter Creek, but to reinforce Macomb's army. 
Governor Chittenden immediately complied with the 
request, sending 1,000 men to Vergennes and 500 to 
Burlington, these troops being militia from Addison, 
Chittenden, and Franklin counties. Wilkinson feared 
that the enemy would seize some of the lake craft, load 
them with stones, and sink them at the mouth of Otter 
Creek, thus bottling up Macdonough's fleet. To guard 
against this contingency the American naval commander 
erected a battery at the mouth of the stream which, 
at a later period, was called Fort Cassin. Between April 
16 and 20 Governor Chittenden and General Wilkinson 



A History of Lake Champlain 259 

visited Macdonough at Vergennes to consider measures 
for the protection of the new fleet. The site for the 
battery was selected by Wilkinson and Macdonough. 
On April 22, 500 soldiers having arrived at Vergennes 
from Plattsburgh, Governor Chittenden discharged all 
the Vermont militia but Capt. William C. Munson's 
Panton company, with orders to turn out upon hearing 
the alarm signal of three heavy guns. 

As early as April 2 the northern end of the lake 
was free from ice and on that day several British vessels 
anchored near Rouses Point. On May 9 Capt. Daniel 
Pring entered the lake with the new 16-gun brig Linnet, 
five sloops, and thirteen galleys. The next day the Brit- 
ish fleet anchored in the shelter of Providence Island, 
near the southern end of South Hero. The presence of 
this flotilla caused the greatest excitement in all the 
Champlain valley. During the night of May 10 the 
selectmen of the lake towns worked until morning run- 
ning bullets, and the militia was called out. Gen. George 
Izard, commanding the American forces at Plattsburgh, 
had notified General Macomb at Burlington on May 
10 of the approach of the enemy. Late that night 
Macomb dispatched a messenger to Vergennes and Cap- 
tain Thornton, with a force of 50 light artillerymen, was 
sent in haste in wagons from Burlington to Vergennes 
to operate the battery. Macdonough had mounted 
seven 12-pounders on ship carriages at the mouth of 
Otter Creek. Lieutenant Cassin, a detachment of 
sailors, and a body of soldiers under Colonel Davis, 
were posted in a manner best calculated to prevent a 
landing by the enemy. 

Pring's fleet appeared off Burlington on April 12, 
was sighted off Essex, N. Y., the afternoon of April 13, 



260 A History of Lake Champlain 

and very early on the morning of April 14 appeared off 
the mouth of Otter Creek. Approaching within two 
and one-half miles of the battery, the enemy opened 
fire, the engagement lasting an hour and a half. Many 
shells lodged in the parapet of Fort Cassin, one gun was 
dismounted, and two men were slightly injured. Several 
British galleys were damaged, and two large row boats, 
shot adrift during the action, were picked up by the 
Americans. Strenuous efforts were made to bring several 
of the new ships down the tortuous course of Otter 
Creek in time for use against the enemy but the foe 
had departed before this was effected. Pring drew his 
fleet off to the northward having been unable to inflict 
any damage upon Macdonough's flotilla. 

The same afternoon three British galleys rowed up 
the Boquet River and demanded a quantity of flour 
stored in the grist mill at the falls for government use. 
Learning that a force of American militia was approach- 
ing the enemy retired in haste, but not soon enough to 
avoid an attack by a force under Lieutenant Colonel 
Noble, nearly all the men in the rear galley being killed 
or wounded. Two Americans were slightly wounded in 
this skirmish. The galleys having joined the remainder 
of the British fleet near the Four Brothers Islands, 
Captain Pring returned to Isle aux Noix. 

There had been great difficulty in securing the neces- 
sary equipment for the American fleet. Rodney Mac- 
donough, in his "Life of Thomas Macdonough," says: 
"When the Saratoga was launched neither her guns, 
anchors, cables nor rigging had been received. The 
roads were so bad that the heavy loading of transport 
wagons was impossible. It took eighty teams to carry 
one consignment of naval stores from Troy to Vergennes, 



A History of Lake Champlain 261 

and then three large cables were left behind. A large 
quantity of shot was brought from Boston." There was 
also a shortage of men for the vessels, and about the 
middle of April General Macomb sent 400 Vermont 
soldiers to Macdonough at Vergennes. 

One of the vessels, the Ticonderoga, originally 
had been designed for a steamboat. As it was not con- 
sidered wise to attempt to propel a warship by steam, she 
was rigged as a schooner. On May 26 Macdonough en- 
tered the lake with his flagship Saratoga, 26 guns; the 
schooner Ticonderoga, 16 guns; the sloop Preble, 9 guns; 
and six gunboats, armed with 2 guns each. Afterward 
the fleet was augmented by the addition of the sloop Pres- 
ident 10 guns ; the sloop Montgomery, 6 guns ; and five gun 
boats with 1 gun each. These gunboats were 75 feet 
long, 15 feet wide, and could be rowed by forty oarsmen. 

Proceeding to Plattsburgh, where Macdonough 
arrived May 29, he was requested to protect the trans- 
ports which were removing troops and stores from Bur- 
lington to that place, General Izard having decided 
to encamp near the Canadian border. During the sum- 
mer the American fleet guarded the mouth of the Riche- 
lieu to prevent the British ships from entering the lake. 

Fearing that Macdonough's squadron was suffi- 
ciently strong to give him the mastery of the lake, the 
British prepared in June to build a vessel at Isle aux 
Noix that at least should match the Saratoga, and on 
August 25 the frigate Confiance, carrying 37 guns, was 
launched. 

Meanwhile the American fleet was strengthened by 
building another brig at Vergennes. The keel of the 
Eagle was laid on July 23, she was launched August 11, 
and on August 27 she joined the American fleet anchored 



262 A History of Lake Champlain 

off Chazy. Her armament consisted of 20 guns. Former 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles H. Darling, in 
writing of Macdonough's fleet, has said that "the Eagle 
was substantially of the same size as Perry's flagships 
Lawrence and Niagara on Lake Erie, while the Saratoga 
was much superior to Perry's largest vessel. The time 
in which Perry built his ships has often been mentioned 
in praise and wonder, but Macdonough's ships were not 
only of larger tonnage but were built and completed in 
a shorter time." 

A comparison between the cost of ships of war in 
1814 and the cost at the present time (1909), less than 
a century later, may be found of interest. It may be 
urged that such a comparison is of little value, owing 
to the fact that Macdonough's boats were built for the 
navigation of an inland lake, while the modern battle- 
ships are constructed to circumnavigate the globe and 
outride safely any ocean tempest. On this point the 
evidence of ex-Secretary Darling again will be found 
valuable. In writing on the battle of Plattsburgh, he 
said: "The ships of either side were not inferior in size 
or armament to the majority of the deep sea men-of- 
wars-men of the time. Macdonough's flagship and the 
British flagship, the Confiance, were each somewhat 
smaller than the Constitution, but they were larger than 
the Peacock, Wasp, Hornet, Intrepid, Boxer, Enter- 
prise, Bonne Homme Richard and all other famous ships 
of the navy up to that time, save the Constitution, the 
President, and their class." 

It will be seen by the foregoing statement that while 
some of the oceangoing warships of the American navy 
were larger than the Saratoga, others that sailed the 
high seas and played a prominent part in the War of 



A History of Lake Champlain 263 

1812 were actually smaller than Macdonough's flagship. 
The figures used in this comparison were furnished by 
the navy department at Washington, with the excep- 
tion of a part of the tonnage of Macdonough's fleet, 
which is taken from Theodore Roosevelt's "Naval War 
of 1812." 

The tonnage of the Saratoga was 734, and of the 
Eagle 500, according to Secretary of the Navy Tru- 
man N. Newberry. The total tonnage of Macdonough's 
fleet was 2,244. The naval displacement of the new 
battleship Vermont is 16,000 tons, and the full load 
displacement is 17,680 tons, while the battleships author- 
ized in the last naval appropriation bill 1909 are to have 
have a displacement of 26,000 tons according to figures 
obtained from the Bureau of Construction and Repair, 
and furnished by Secretary of the Navy George von L. 
Meyer. 

The cost of the Saratoga was $80 per ton, and the 
cost of the Eagle was the same. Estimating that the cost 
of the remainder of Macdonough's fleet was the same, the 
total cost of construction was $179,520. The Bureau of 
Naval War Records is authority for the statement that 
roughly estimated the cost of armament of Macdon- 
ough's squadron was $36,120, and the cost of the Sarato- 
ga's battery (broadsides) was $12,420, This makes the 
entire cost of the Saratoga, $71,140; and the total (esti- 
mated) cost of Macdonough's fleet, $215,640. 

The cost of the new battleship Vermont, including 
armament, according to the Bureau of Supplies and 
Accounts, was $7, 563, 963. 39. The estimated cost of the 
26,000 ton battleships just authorized by Congress, is 
$10,250,000 each. According to these figures furnished, 
the cost of one battleship like the new Vermont exceeds 



264 A History of Lake Champlain 

the cost of 106 ships of the Saratoga type; and the cost 
of 144 Saratogas would be less than the estimated cost 
of one of the projected 26,000 ton battleships. Thirty- 
five entire fleets like Macdonough's could be built for 
the cost of one battleship Vermont, with money left 
over and between forty-seven and forty-eight such 
could be built for the price of a 26,000 ton modern battle- 
ship. 

Macdonough's fleet consisted ol four ships and ten 
smaller craft called gunboats. In modern naval war- 
fare a fleet of four battleships surely would not be con- 
sidered large; but using this number to continue the 
comparison, 140 fleets like that commanded by Mac- 
donough could be built for the cost of four battleships 
like the Vermont, and 190 fleets like Macdonough's 
could be constructed and equipped for the price of four 
26,000 ton battleships. 

The difference in the time needed for the construc- 
tion of a Saratoga and of a Vermont is almost as striking 
as the difference in cost. 



A History of Lake Champlain 265 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURGH 

During the early part of the year 1814 there was 
some skirmishing on the part of the land forces on the 
west side of the lake, but none on the east side. There 
was considerable sickness among the troops stationed 
at Burlington and in the General Hospital there, under 
the charge of Dr. James Mann, there were 170 deaths 
in the year 1814, March and September being the months 
showing the greatest mortality. On account of the sick- 
ness most of the soldiers at Burlington were removed 
from the Battery to a new camp in the eastern part of 
the town, which was established on the pine plains 
south of the main road to Williston, and east of Fourth 
street. 

On June 24 Lieutenant Colonel Forsyth, called the 
best partisan leader in the American army, with seventy 
riflemen, part of the force stationed at Plattsburgh and 
vicinity, advanced as far as Odelltown, Que., where he 
was attacked by 200 British troops and retreated to 
Champlain, N. Y., his loss being one killed and five 
wounded. A few days later he crossed the boundary 
line again with the intention of drawing the enemy into 
an ambuscade. He succeeded in his purpose, but step- 
ping upon a log to watch the movements of 150 of the 
Canadians and Indians under Captain Mahew, who were 
pursuing him, he was killed by a shot fired by an Indian. 



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A History of Lake Cham plain 2()7 

The day following Izard's abandonment of his 
camp at Champlain, on Aug. 30, General Brisbane, 
with a division of the King's forces, occupied the town, 
and by Sept. 3, an army variously estimated from 
11,000 to 14,000, men was assembled at this little town 
on the New York frontier. It was composed of infantry, 
artillery, light dragoons, sappers and miners, Canadian 
chasseurs and a Swiss regiment. Sir George Prevost, 
governor of Lower Canada, was commander-in-chief, 
with Lieutenant General d*: Rottenburgh second in 
command, and Major Gene' as Robinson, Powers, and 
Brisbane commanding brigades. A considerable portion 
of this army was made up of Wellington's seasoned 
veterans. Had Macomb's army been composed entirely 
of the best of regulars they could hardly have been 
expected under ordinary circumstances, successfully to 
meet this vastly superior force. 

The main body of Prevost's army reached the 
village of Chazy on Sept. 4. Macomb had made 
the best preparations possible for the defence of Pitts- 
burgh. The American fortifications were located on an 
elevated plain between Lake Champlain and the Saranac 
River. The defences included Fort Brown, on the bank 
of the Saranac; Fort Scott, near the shore of the lake; 
and Fort Moreau, about midway between the river and 
the lake. One blockhouse and a battery were located 
on a point near the mouth of the river, and another 
blockhouse was situated about half way between the river 
and the lake on the south side of a deep ravine, extend- 
ing from the Saranac nearly to the edge of the lake. 



268 A History of Lake Champlain 

Col. Melancton Smith with the Sixth and Twenty- 
ninth regiments, held Fort Moreau; Major Vinson, with 
the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth regiments, garrisoned 
Fort Scott; while Lieutenant Colonel Storrs, with de- 
tachments of the Thirtieth and Thirty-first regiments, 
occupied Fort Brown; Lieutenant Fowler, with a detach- 
ment of artillery, defended the blockhouse on the point; 
and Captain Smith, with part of his company and a body 
of convalescents, was stationed in the blockhouse near 
the ravine. 

When the British reached Chazy, Captain Sproul 
was sent by Macomb with 200 American soldiers and 
two cannon to hold a position near Dead Creek bridge, 
and to build an abatis across the road beyond. Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Appling with 110 riflemen and a troop of 
New York state cavalry under Capt. Hiram. SafTord and 
Lieut. M. M. Standish was sent out as an advance 
guard. 

General Mooers had called out the New York mil- 
itia and the Vermonters had rallied in large numbers to 
the appeal for aid, under command of General Strong. 

On Sept. 4, 700 militia from Essex and Clinton 
counties had assembled at Plattsburgh, and they were 
thrown out as a skirmish line, with orders to break up 
bridges and obstruct the road with fallen trees. 

On the night of Sept. 5 the British had advanced to 
Sampson's, about eight miles from Plattsburgh. There 
the army was divided into two columns, and before day- 
light, on the morning of Sept. 6, advanced on the Amer- 
ican position, the right wing, under Generals Powers and 
Robinson, by the Beekmantown road, the left wing by 
the road over the Dead Creek bridge and the beach at 



A History of Lake Champlain 269 

the north end of Plattsburgh Bay, under General Bris- 
bane. 

Major Wool with 250 men had been ordered by Ma- 
comb to advance on the Beekmantown road and support 
the militia. As the British approached, Wool's detach- 
ment opened fire, severely wounding Lieutenant West 
and twenty men. Wool fell back to Culver's Hill, four 
and a half miles from Plattsburgh. Most of the militia 
fled at the first fire, and after a brief but spirited resist- 
ance Wool was compelled to fall back again, this time to 
Halsey's Corners, one and one-half miles from the vil- 
lage bridge. This action was made necessary by the 
overwhelming force in front and by the fact that Wool's 
rear was threatened by the British force on the Beekman- 
town road. At Culver's Hill, Lieutenant Colonel Wel- 
lington and Ensign Chapman of the British army were 
killed, and Captain Westropp was severely wounded. 
Several Americans were also killed. 

Wool was joined at Halsey's Corners about 8 o'clock 
in the morning by Captain Leonard with two pieces of 
light artillery, which were placed at an angle in the road, 
and were masked by the troops in front. As the British 
columns approached, these guns were discharged three 
times with deadly effect, but the American force was too 
small to check the enemy long and Leonard retreated in 
haste toward Plattsburgh. 

Macomb ordered the outpost at Dead Creek to fall 
back and Colonel Appling was directed to harass the 
enemy's flank. Forming a junction with Wool, this 
band of skirmishers retreated in good order within the 
protection of the defences of Plattsburgh, although it is 
said that Colonel Appling and Captain Safford nar- 
rowly escaped capture. 



270 A History of Lake Champlain 

The left wing of the British army was delayed some- 
what by the obstructions placed in the road. As the 
enemy advanced to Dead Creek bridge, which was 
reached about 10 o'clock in the forenoon, they were 
checked by the fire of the American gunboats at the 
mouth of the creek. Macdonough had taken a posi- 
tion in Plattsburgh Bay on Sept. 1, and was ready to co- 
operate with the army. When the gunboats opened fire 
the British artillery was brought up and from the shelter 
of the woods returned the fire. A high wind and rough 
sea made accurate fire from the gunboats exceedingly 
difficult. Macdonough therefore sent Lieut. Silas Dun- 
can in a small boat to order the gunboats to retire. The 
fire of the British batteries was directed upon Duncan's 
craft, but he delivered his orders, although so severely 
wounded that it was necessary to amputate his right arm. 
For his heroic conduct on this occasion Duncan received 
the thanks of Congress. 

When the Americans had retired across the Saranac 
River the planks of the lower bridge were torn up and 
were used to form a breastwork, a similar defence being 
constructed at the upper bridge. The British made sev- 
eral attempts to cross the river, but were repulsed. The 
American casualties on July 6 were 45 men, while the 
British lost more than 200 in killed and wounded. 
General Prevost established his headquarters at Allen's 
farmhouse, about a mile and a quarter from the Ameri- 
can forts, and his army was encamped on the high 
ground north of the village. 

From July 7 to July 10 Prevost was engaged in 
bringing up his artillery and supplies and preparing for 
siege operations. One battery was erected on a hill 
north of Fort Brown, a second near the cemetery, a third 



A History of Lake Champlain 271 

on the edge of a steep bank above a millpond, and a 
fourth near the mouth of the Saranac, not far from the 
lake. Three smaller batteries were erected at other 
points within gunshot of the American position. 

Macomb's troops, meanwhile, worked night and 
day, strengthening their defences. The invalids were 
removed to Crab Island and quartered in tents. A bat- 
tery of two 6-pounders was erected, manned by conva- 
lescents. The hospital and barracks near the forts were 
burned and hot shot were fired into several buildings on 
the north side of the river, used by the British, fifteen or 
sixteen structures being destroyed. 

During the period of preparation there were fre- 
quent skirmishes, the British being unable to cross the 
Saranac. The night of Sept. 9 being dark and stormy, 
Captain McGlasson of the Fifteenth U. S. Infantry, with 
50 men, crossed the river, and dividing his party into two 
detachments he attacked in front and rear, making a 
great noise, a rocket battery which more than 300 Brit- 
ish troops were erecting near Fort Brown. The enemy, 
taken completely by surprise, and supposing that a large 
force had attacked them, fled for their lives. The Amer- 
icans spiked the guns and retreated safely without the 
loss of a man. 

The command of the British squadron had been 
given to Capt. George Downie, who had been sum- 
moned from Lake Ontario, where he had commanded the 
ship Montreal. On Sept. 3, Capt. Daniel Pring with a 
flotilla of British gunboats left Isle aux Noix and pro- 
ceeded as far as Isle La Motte. Here, according to his 
official report, he took possession and paroled the militia 
of the island. Then he erected a battery of three long 
18-pounder guns, to protect a position "abreast of Little 



272 A History of Lake Champlain 

Chazy, where supplies for the army were to be landed." 
Captain Downie with the remainder of the fleet followed 
Pring a few days later, the flagship grounding as she 
came out of the Richelieu River. She was floated with- 
out injury and the ships joined the gunboats at Isle La 
Motte on Sept. 8. It was necessary to wait until the 
morning of Sept. 11 before the needed stores were se- 
cured. Leaving Isle La Motte at daylight on Sept. 11, 
with a northeast breeze, the American fleet was sighted 
at Plattsburgh about 7 o'clock that morning. 

Macdonough's force consisted of the flagship Sara- 
toga, Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough, 734 
tons, with a crew of 240 men, equipped with eight long 
24-pound carronades, six 42-pounders, and twelve 32- 
pounders; the brig Eagle, Master Commandant Robert 
Henley, 500 tons, with a crew of 150 men, equipped with 
eight long 18-pounders and twelve 32-pounders; the 
schooner Ticonderoga, Lieut. Stephen Cassin, 350 tons, 
with a crew of 112 men, equipped with eight long 12- 
pounders, four long 18-pounders, and five 32-pounders; 
the sloop Preble, Lieut. Charles Budd, 80 tons, with a 
crew of 30 men, equipped with seven long 9-pounders; 
six gunboats, aggregating 420 tons, with a crew of 246 
men, in all, each equipped with one long 24-pounder and 
one 18-pound columbiad; four gunboats, aggregating 160 
tons, the combined crews numbering 160 men, each 
equipped with one long 12-pounder. The six larger gun- 
boats were commanded as follows: Allen, Sailing Mas- 
ter William M. Robins; Burrows, Sailing Master Samuel 
Keteltas; Borer, Midshipman T. A. Conover; Nettle, 
Midshipman S. L. Bresse; Viper, Lieut. Francis J. Mitch- 
ell; Centipede, Sailing Master D. V. Hazard. The com- 
manders of the smaller gunboats were: Ludlow, Mas- 



A History of Lake Champlain 273 

ter's Mate John Freeborn; Wilmer, Sailing Master Dan- 
iel S. Stellwagon; Alwyn, Acting Sailing Master Ban- 
croft; Bullard, Master's Mate Stephen Holland. 

Thus the American fleet consisted of fourteen craft 
aggregating 2,244 tons, manned by 882 men, and carry- 
ing 86 guns. Roosevelt's "Naval War of 1812" is used 
as the authority for the number of men. Rodney Mac- 
donough gives a smaller number, 820. 

Two of Macdonough's ships were not available for 
the battle. The President had been damaged some- 
what in a heavy storm a few days earlier, so as not to be 
fit for fighting, and both the President and the Mont- 
gomery had been used as transports to bring troops from 
Burlington and other lake ports to aid General Macomb. 

The British squadron was made up of the frigate 
Confiance, Capt. George Downie, 1,200 tons, with a 
crew of 325 men, equipped with twenty-seven long 24- 
pounders, four 32-pound carronades, and six 24-pound- 
ers; the brig Linnet, Capt. Daniel Pring, 350 tons, with 
a crew of 125 men, equipped with sixteen long 12- 
pounders; the sloop Chub, Lieut. James McGhie, 112 
tons, with a crew of 50 men, equipped with ten 18- 
pounders and one long 6-pounder; the sloop Finch. 
Lieut. William Hicks, 110 tons, with a crew of 50 men, 
equipped with six 18-pounders, four long 6-pounders, 
and one 18-pound columbiad; five gunboats with an 
aggregate tonnage of 350, the crews numbering a total of 
250 men, each boat carrying two guns; and seven gun- 
boats with an aggregate tonnage of 280, the combined 
crews numbering 182 men, each boat carrying one gun. 
The Chub and the Finch were the ships Growler and Eagle 
captured from Lieutenant Smith near Isle aux Noix ear- 



274 A History of Lake Champlain 

Her in the war, and at first christened by their British 
captors the Broke and the Shannon. 

The British fleet was composed, therefore, of six- 
teen vessels, aggregating about 2,402 tons, and carrying, 
according to Roosevelt, approximately 937 men and 92 
guns. A store sloop accompanied the fleet. The Con- 
fiance was equipped with a furnace for heating shot. In 
number of ships and men, in size of ships and in weight of 
armament, the advantage was with the British fleet. 

Macdonough had anchored his ships in a north and 
south line a little to the south of the point where the 
Saranac River empties into the lake. The northern ex- 
tremity of his line of battle was near Cumberland Head, 
while a shoal near the southern extremity made a flank 
attack in that quarter impossible. The American com- 
mander had chosen his position with great care. If the 
enemy entered the lake with a northerly breeze it neces- 
sitated beating against the wind to round Cumberland 
Head and when inside that point of land the wind was 
likely to be light and uncertain. 

The Eagle was stationed at the head of the line, 
flanked on either side by two gunboats. The Saratoga 
came next, then three gunboats, with the Ticonderoga 
beyond. The Preble was at the foot of the line with 
three more gunboats between that vessel and the Ticon- 
deroga . 

The larger ships were anchored with springs, while 
the gunboats, or galleys, under sweeps, formed a second 
line about forty yards in the rear of the larger craft. 
Ex-Secretary Darling explains the term, "anchoring with 
springs," by saying that Macdonough "dropped an an- 
chor from the bow, another from the stern; he attached 
lines to the anchor chains and he also carried out kedge 



A History of Lake Champlain 275 

anchors to either side of the ship and in this manner by 
raising or letting go one anchor and pulling in on differ- 
ent lines he was able to turn and manoeuvre his ships." 

It was about 8 o'clock on Sunday morning, Sept. 11, 
one of those beautiful days when summer lingers on the 
verge of autumn, that the American lookout boat lying 
at the entrance of Plattsburgh Bay, reported the ap- 
proach of the British ships. It was nearly 9 o'clock 
when Downie approached and offered battle, having 
waited at the entrance of the bay for his gunboats to 
come up. Then, as the enemy advanced to the attack 
there was almost perfect stillness for a little space of 
time. During this calm before the storm of battle, the 
young American commander, not yet 31 years old, hav- 
ing done all that human energy and foresight could sug- 
gest to ensure victory, knelt on the deck of his flagship, 
his officers grouped about him, and repeated the prayer 
appointed to be said before a fight at sea, imploring the 
God of battles to crown his efforts with success. 

The Eagle opened the engagement with a broadside 
fired at the Confiance, which fell short of the mark. 
Waiting until the British flagship was within range, Mac- 
donough himself sighted one of the Saratoga's long 24- 
pounders and fired, the shot ranging the length of the 
deck of the Confiance, killing and wounding several men. 
Finding the American fire unexpectedly heavy Downie 
anchored about 300 yards from Macdonough's line. 
The Linnet and the Chub had been ordered to turn the 
northern end of the American line; and as the former ship 
passed the Saratoga she fired a broadside from her 12- 
pounders, the only shot that struck hitting a coop on the 
deck of the American flagship containing a young game 
cock brought on board by some of the sailors. The bird 



276 A History oj Lake Champlain 

being released flew into the rigging, flapped his wings, 
and crowed lustily, whereupon the men of the Saratoga 
laughed and cheered, considering this episode an omen of 
victory. 

The Finch and four gunboats were assigned to at- 
tack the Preble and the Ticonderoga, which were sup- 
ported by four gunboats, the Confiance, Linnet, and 
Chub devoting their attention to the Saratoga, the 
Eagle and the remaining American gunboats. Captain 
Downie did not open fire until he had manouevred his 
ship into a desirable position and made her secure. 
Then a terrible broadside was discharged from sixteen 
double-shotted 24-pounders, which made the Saratoga 
shiver from bowsprit to keel. First Lieutenant Peter 
Gamble was killed in the act of sighting a bow gun and 
nearly forty of the ship's crew were killed or wounded. 

The fight then became general all along the line. 
The Linnet, ignoring the attack of the American gun- 
boats, devoted her entire attention to the Eagle, which 
also received part of the fire of the Confiance. After a 
time her springs were shot away and, cutting her cable, 
Henley ran down and took a position between the Sara- 
toga and the Ticonderoga, and nearer the Confiance 
upon which he opened fire. The Linnet, having driven 
off the American gunboats, was able to open a broadside 
fire upon the Saratoga which now bore the brunt of the 
fight. 

Not a sailor worked more energetically than Mac- 
donough, who not only commanded the fleet, but sight- 
ed and handled one of the Saratoga's guns. While 
pointing a gun a shot severed the spanker boom of the 
ship, which fell on his head and rendered him uncon- 
scious for two or three minutes. Again he was struck 



A History of Lake Champlain 277 

by the head of a gunner, which had been shot off and 
was hurled across the deck, knocking him down. Twice 
the Saratoga had been set on fire by hot shot from the 
Confiance. Many of her long guns had become dis- 
abled, and finally only a single carronade remained 
available in her starboard battery. Presently a bolt 
broke and the last gun fell from its carriage down 
the main hatch, leaving the ship practically defenceless. 

Macdonough's careful preparations now made it 
possible for him to turn defeat into victory. By letting 
go an anchor astern, cutting the bow cable, and hauling 
in on a hawser leading to the starboard quarter, the 
Saratoga was brought about so that one gun of the 
port battery could be trained on the Confiance. After 
some delay the ship finally was brought about so that 
her entire port battery could open upon the enemy. 
During this manoeuvring most of the men had been 
sent forward to protect them as much as possible from 
the raking fire of the Linnet. 

The Confiance also had troubles of her own. Her 
first broadside discharged at the Saratoga was the 
most destructive one fired. The quoins became loosen- 
ed by successive discharges of the guns, and not being 
properly replaced, the shots kept going higher and 
higher, consequently doing less and less damage. 
This was shown by the fact that not twenty whole 
hammocks were left in the nettings of the Saratoga. 
Early in the action Captain Downie, the British com- 
mander, was killed. He was standing behind one of 
the guns of the Confiance when a shot from the Saratoga 
threw the cannon from its carriage against his right 
groin, causing almost instant death, although the skin 



278 A History of Lake Champlain 

was not broken where the blow struck. The force was 
so great that his watch was flattened. 

When the Saratoga had been winded about, the 
Confiance attempted to follow her example and bring 
her own uninjured batteries into action. She had not 
been provided, however, for such an emergency with 
the care exercised by the American commander, and 
hung with her head to the wind. More than half her 
crew had been lost, all but four of her available guns 
had been dismantled, her masts had been shattered, 
and her sails were in ribbons. Being unable to fight 
any more, at 11 o'clock her flag was hauled down in 
token of surrender, after two hours of desperate fighting. 

Losing no time, the Saratoga was brought about 
still farther and her guns were trained on the Linnet. 
Captain Pring fought on gallantly, hoping that the 
gunboats would come to his aid and tow him out of 
range of the enemy's fire. No help coming, his ship 
being riddled, with masts and sails in a most dilapi- 
dated condition, the water being a foot above the lower 
deck, and learning of the death of Captain Downie, 
he lowered his flag at 11:20 o'clock, and surrendered. 
Early in the action a shot from the Eagle had cut the 
cable of the Chub, her bowsprit and main boom were 
shot away, and she drifted between the opposing fleets 
and struck her colors, having lost nearly half of her men 
in killed and wounded. One of the Saratoga's mid- 
shipmen, Charles Piatt, took possession of the Chub, 
and she was towed in shore and anchored, becoming 
American property once more. 

The fighting was brisk at the lower end of the battle 
line. About an hour after the contest opened the Finch 
of the British fleet was disabled by broadsides from the 



A History of Lake Cham plain 279 

Ticonderoga and the Preble, and drifted until she ran 
aground near Crab Island, when some of the convales- 
cents stationed on the island opened fire with a 6-pound- 
er. The vessel then surrendered, nearly half her crew 
being killed or wounded. 

The Preble, being hard pressed by the British gun- 
boats, cut her cables and drifted to the shore and out 
of the conflict. The enemy's smaller craft then made 
a determined attack on the schooner Ticonderoga, and 
the fighting was desperate for a time. Again and again 
attempts were made to board her and although the 
gunboats approached within a few feet of the ship, 
they were driven off each time. The guns of the Ti- 
conderoga were loaded with canister and bags of bullets 
when the fight was hottest. Many of the matches 
were defective, and Midshipman Hiram Paulding, a 
lad of only 16 years, fired the eight guns of his division 
by the flash of a pistol. Lieutenant Cassin, command- 
ing the Ticonderoga, exposed himself with great courage 
amidst the hottest fire from cannon and muskets, and 
directed the loading and firing of the guns. Lieutenant 
Bell, who commanded the British gunboats, also won 
praise for his gallant conduct. 

At length the enemy's smaller craft were obliged 
to withdraw in a disabled condition. Macdpnough sig- 
nalled to the American gunboats to pursue but soon 
withdrew the order that they might aid in saving the 
Confiance and Linnet, which were in a sinking condition. 
The British gunboats then made their escape, together 
with a store ship which had been anchored near the 
point of Cumberland Head. 

Thus the battle ended after an engagement lasting 
nearly two hours and a half, hardly a mast being left 



280 A History of Lake Champlain 

standing in either fleet. One hundred and five shot 
holes were counted in the hull of the Confiance, while the 
Saratoga was hulled 55 times, and the Eagle 39 times. 

Soon after the firing ceased the officers of the four 
principal British ships, Lieutenant Robinson of the Con- 
fiance, Captain Pring of the Linnet, Lieutenant McGhie 
of the Chub, and Lieutenant Hicks of the Finch, under 
guard proceeded to the Saratoga, where they tendered 
their swords to Macdonough, which the American com- 
mander courteously declined to accept. 

Roosevelt says the American loss in killed and 
wounded probably was about 200, and that of the British, 
over 300. Other authorities report fewer casualties. 
Among the American officers killed were Lieut. Peter 
Gamble, of the Saratoga; Lieut. John Stansbury, of the 
Ticonderoga; and Sailing Master Rogers Carter, of the 
Preble. The British officers killed included Captain 
Downie, of the Confiance, commander of the fleet, and 
Midshipman William Gunn, of the same ship; Lieut. 
William Paul and Boatswain Charles Jackson, of the 
Linnet; and Capt. Alexander Anderson, of the Marines. 
Immediately after the battle the British wound- 
ed were removed to the hospital on Crab Island, where 
they were given the same careful attention bestowed 
upon the injured of Macdonough's fleet. 

The battle of Plattsburgh, however, was not fought 
entirely on the water. When the British fleet was seen 
rounding Cumberland Head on this memorable Sunday 
morning, General Prevost directed General Powers' 
brigade, together with a portion of General Robinson's 
brigade, to force the Saranac fords and attack the Ameri- 
can forts. At the village bridge, at the upper bridge, 
and at the ford near Pike's cantonment the British troops 



A History of Lake Champlain 281 

attempted to cross. At the first two places they were 
repulsed. At the ford, guarded by New York militia, 
several companies of the enemy effected a crossing and 
drove the Americans toward the Salmon River where 
a large number of Vermont troops and a company of 
artillery reinforced the fleeing militia. At this time news 
came of the defeat of the British fleet. The Americans,, 
taking courage, rallied just as the attacking force re- 
ceived orders to withdraw. One British company lost 
its way and was surrounded by Vermont and New 
York militia. Captain Purchase and part of the company 
were killed and three lieutenants and twenty-seven men 
were made prisoners. The remainder of the British 
troops retreated in safety across the Saranac. It is 
related that during the land battle of Sept. 11 Captain 
Saftord of the Vermont militia and his men, w T ith others, 
took possession of the old stone grist mill, and their 
firing as sharpshooters silenced the British batteries 
upon the bank of the lake, nearly opposite the present 
residence of Hon. Smith M. Weed, which is across the 
river from the old mill. 

Prevost dismantled his batteries and started his 
artillery northward. The main body of the army fol- 
lowed and the rearguard left just before daybreak, 
Sept. 12. The British abandoned great quantities of 
ammunition, provisions, tents, and camp equipage. 
The sick and wounded were also left behind. The 
British had passed through Beekmantown before the 
Americans learned of their flight. The light troops and 
militia were sent after them, and following as far as 
Chazy took a few prisoners. The roads were heavy 
and further pursuit was not attempted, although the 



282 A History of Lake Champlain 

last of the British army did not leave Champlain until 
Sept. 24. The Vermont militia returned home Sept. 12. 

General Macomb gave the killed, wounded and 
missing among the regular troops as 123. The losses 
are said to have been small among the volunteers and 
militia. Lieut. George W. Runck of the Sixth regiment 
was the only officer killed. Estimates of the British losses 
vary widely, ranging from 600 killed, wounded, and miss- 
ing to 2,000. 

The funeral of the officers of the two fleets, killed in 
the battle, was held on Sept. 14 with the honors of war, 
the burial being near the centre of the village cemetery. 
The sailors and the marines were buried in a common 
grave on Crab Island, over which the United States 
government has raised a monument. The prisoners 
who were not paroled were sent to Greenbush, N. Y., 
Sept. 15, in the charge of Capt White Youngs. 

The chief reason for Prevost's hasty retreat was the 
loss of the British fleet. Probably he could have cap- 
tured Plattsburgh had he been willing to sacrifice a con- 
siderable number of his troops, but the volunteers from 
all the surrounding country were rallying in great num- 
bers as they did at the time of Burgoyne's invasion. The 
same Governor Chittenden, of Vermont, who had at- 
tempted, earlier in the war, to recall the Vermont mil- 
itia from the State of New York, now that there was 
actual danger, had issued a patriotic address calling on 
the men of his State to rally to the defence of Platts- 
burgh. Although asked to raise only 2,000 men, Ver- 
mont had sent voluntarily 2,500 soldiers. In New 
York State General Mooers had called for the militia 
of Warren and Washington counties, and the response 
was a force greater by 250 men than the largest num- 



A History of Lake Champlain 283 

ber ever assembled for a review with all the allurements 
of "training day" in time of peace. The longer the Brit- 
ish army remained, a constant menace to New England 
and eastern New York, the greater would be the militia 
force that would rally to oppose the progress of the 
invaders. Prevost realized that without the aid of the 
fleet he was in great danger of being surrounded, having 
his supplies cut off and the alternatives that would remain 
were desperate fighting or surrender. Less proud and 
more prudent than Burgoyne, he chose the wiser course, 
retreated, and saved his army. 

Almost immediately after the naval battle Mac- 
donough sent to Hon. William Jones, secretary of the 
Navy, the following modest message announcing his 
victory: "The Almighty has been pleased to grant us a 
signal victory on Lake Champlain in the capture of one 
frigate, one brig and two sloops of war of the enemy." 
Two days later he sent Lieutenant Cassin to Washing- 
ton with the captured battle flags. 

Congress ordered a gold medal to be struck and 
presented to Macdonough, thanked him for his "decisive 
and splendid victory," and he was promoted from the 
rank of master commandant to that of captain to date 
from Sept. 11. The Vermont legislature adopted 
a resolution thanking him for his "unrivalled bravery 
and important services in the conquest of a superior 
force on the 11th of September, 1814, which protected 
the soil of freedom, gained the applause of millions and 
merited universal respect and admiration." Vermont 
also bought one hundred acres of land on Cumberland 
Head near the place where the naval victory was won, 
and presented it to the American commander as a token 
of esteem more substantial than resolutions of thanks. 



284 A History of Lake Champlain 

The State of New York granted him one thousand acres 
of land in Sterling township, Cayuga county, while Dela- 
ware voted him a costly sword and a silver service. Dela- 
ware and the city of New York asked him to sit for his 
portrait. Albany gave him the freedom of the city in 
a gold casket and a lot of land on Washington Square. 
Connecticut presented him with a pair of gold mounted 
pistols, and the city of Lansingburgh, N. Y., gave him 
a silver pitcher and goblets. Many congratulatory 
messages were received by Macdonough, among them 
being one from the secretary of the navy, who said, in 
part: "Our lakes, hitherto the objects only of natural 
curiosity, shall fill the pages of future history with the 
bright annals of our country's fame and the imperish- 
able renown of our naval heroes." 

Gold medals were presented to Master Commandant 
Robert Henley and Lieut. Stephen Cassin, silver medals 
to the nearest male relatives of Lieut. Peter Gamble 
and Lieut. John Stansbury, killed in the battle, and to 
the other commissioned officers of the navy and army 
serving in the fleet during the engagement, and a sword 
to each of the midshipmen and sailing masters. Three 
months' extra pay was allowed to the petty officers, 
seamen, marines, and infantry serving on shipboard. 

The citizens of Plattsburgh gave a dinner in Mac- 
donough's honor on Sept. 23, which was attended 
by General Macomb and the officers of the army and 
navy. With characteristic generosity, when called upon, 
the guest of honor proposed the toast — "The memory 
of Commodore Downie our brave enemy." On Sept. 
26 Burlington celebrated the victory with a proces- 
sion, a religous service conducted by Rev. Daniel Haskell, 
of Burlington, and Rev. Mr. Sawyer, of Dover, Mass., 



A History of Lake Champlain 285 

and a dinner. Macdonough, General Macomb, General 
Strong, and other officers were present. The day closed 
with an illumination of the village and a grand ball. 

Theodore Roosevelt says that the victory at Pitts- 
burgh "had a very great effect on the negotiations for 
peace," and adds: "Macdonough in this battle won a 
higher fame than any other commander of the war, 
British or American. He had a decidedly superior force 
to contend against, the officers and men of the two sides 
being about on a par in every respect; and it was solely 
owing to his foresight and resource that we won the 
victory. He forced the British to engage at a disadvan- 
tage by his excellent choice of position ; and he prepared 
beforehand for every possible contingency. His personal 
prowess had already been shown at the cost of the rovers 
of Tripoli; and in this action he helped fight the guns 
as ably as the best sailor. His skill, seamanship, quick 
eye, readiness of resource, and indomitable pluck, are 
beyond all praise. Down to the time of the Civil War 
he is the greatest figure in our naval history. A thor- 
oughly religious man, he was as generous and humane 
as he was skilful and brave; one of the greatest of our 
sea captains, he has left a stainless name behind him." 
Again Roosevelt says: "Captain Perry's name is more 
widely known than that of any other commander. Every 
schoolboy reads about him, if of no other sea captain, 
yet he certainly stands in a lower grade than Mac- 
donough." 

Writing to Secretary of the Navy Jones two days 
after the battle of Pittsburgh, Macdonough asked per- 
mission to leave the lake and to be assigned to a position 
under the command of Commodore Decatur at New 
York, adding: "My health (being some time on the 



286 A History of Lake Champlain 

lake,) together with the almost certain inactivity of 
future naval operations here, are among the causes for 
this request of my removal." The favor asked was not 
granted and he remained on Lake Champlain for several 
months. 

The fleet remained in Plattsburgh Bay for some 
time. Repairs on Macdonough's vessels and on the cap- 
tured ships were necessary and the mouth of the Riche- 
lieu River was closely guarded to prevent any return 
of the British gunboats. On Oct. 2 the Saratoga, 
Conihance, Ticonderoga, and Linnet left Plattsburgh for 
Whitehall. As the Saratoga passed Burlington she fired 
a salute, "the last gun, probably, that she ever fired" 
says Rodney Macdonough. Late in October Macdon- 
ough went to Whitehall and made arrangements for 
laying up the ships there. The wounded were removed 
from Crab Island to Burlington in charge of Surgeon 
William Caton Jr. Late in the year 1814 a British trans- 
port sloop loaded with ammunition and stores, which 
had been sunk off Isle la Motte, was raised. 

On Nov. 1 Macdonough turned over to Lieut. 
Charles A. Budd the command of the squadron. He 
remained at Whitehall on board the Confiance, how- 
ever, for several weeks, leaving early in December for 
his home at Middletown, Conn. 

The battle of Plattsburgh ended the war in the 
Champlain valley. Rumors of another British invasion, 
however, kept the people in this region in a state of 
anxiety for many months. Although peace was declared 
in December, 1814, several regiments were kept at Bur- 
lington during the greater part of the year 1815. During 
the latter part of the year 1814 Genet al Strong, of Ver- 
mont, and General Mooers, of New York, ordered their 



A History of Lake Champlain 287 

respective forces to hold themselves in readiness for 
service. General Macomb was kept at Plattsburgh, 
where he caused two redoubts, Forts Tompkins and 
Gaines, to be thrown up, a little to the south of Fort 
Moreau. ' $£ 

With the opening of the year 1815, news not having 
arrived of the signing of the treaty of Ghent, Governor 
Tompkins, of New York, became alarmed at reports of 
a British attack on Whitehall by way of Lake Cham- 
plain. As a result he wrote Macdonough suggesting that 
he and the famous naval commander consult with the 
Governor of Vermont regarding the safety of the Ameri- 
can fleet. Finally the authorities at Washington became 
apprehensive, and Macdonough was ordered to Lake 
Champlain to report on the situation. He conferred 
with Lieutenant Budd, visited Burlington and Platts- 
burgh, and on Feb. 1, 1815, reported to the secre- 
tary of the navy that the enemy were making no prepara- 
tions that indicated an attack upon the American fleet. 
He returned to Burlington Feb. 3, and on Feb. 4 
went to Whitehall, where he remained until the 
end of the war. During the summer of 1820 Macdon- 
ough visited Vermont and the scene of his great naval 
victory at Plattsburgh, being welcomed with great 
cordiality. 

With the close of the War of 1812 the record of 
battles on Lake Champlain, covering more than two 
centuries, ended, it may be hoped, forever. The lake was 
still considered a place of stragetic importance, however, 
and in 1816 a fortification was begun at Rouses Point, 
N. Y., which was called in derision "Fort Blunder." 
After the work of construction had been begun it was dis- 
covered that the site of the fort was on Canadian soil. 



288 A History of Lake Champlain 

In 1842, by the terms of the Webster-Ashburton treaty, 
a narrow strip of land at this place was ceded to the 
United States, the line being drawn 4,200 feet north 
of the true, parallel of 45 degrees latitude, supposed 
to be the actual boundary. 

In 1843 the building of Fort Montgomery was be- 
gun. At the outbreak of the Mexican War work was 
suspended. At the close of hostilities construction was 
resumed and continued at intervals until 1870, when 
it was abandoned. In appearance the fort was a formid- 
able looking stone structure, being entirely surrounded 
by water, and connected with the mainland by a draw- 
bridge about twenty feet long. No garrison was ever 
stationed in the fort, an ordnance sergeant and an 
engineer watchman constituting the only occupants. 

In the spring of 1908 the fort was entirely dis- 
mantled, the guns being given to various towns and 
cities upon request. The fort remains, a picturesque 
object on the frontier, and a reminder of the importance 
in earlier days attached to the control of Lake Cham- 
plain. 

On August 2, 1817, the United States government 
intimated to Great Britain a desire for a mutual reduc- 
tion of the naval forces on the American lakes. As a 
result an agreement was entered into by Acting Secre- 
tary of State Richard Rush and the British minister, 
Charles Bagot, proclamation being made by the Presi- 
dent on April 28, 1818. It provided that the naval force 
maintained thereafter on Lake Champlain by the gov- 
ernments of Great Britain and the United States should 
consist of one vessel each, not exceeding 100 tons burden, 
armed with one 18-pound cannon. No other war vessels 
were to be built or armed on the lake. Provision was 



A History of Lake Champlain 289 

made that this agreement might be annulled upon six 
months' notice given by either party. With the passing 
of Macdonough's ships war craft on Lake Champlain 
became only a memory. 



290 A History of Lake Champlain 



CHAPTER XV 
NAVIGATION ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 

When Peter Kalm, the Swedish naturalist, visited 
the Champlain valley in 1749, he travelled from Fort 
Frederic to St. Johns in a sailing craft called a yacht, 
which made regular trips between the two places, and 
was said to be the first sailing vessel built on Lake 
Champlain. 

Until the close of the Revolutionary War, trans- 
portation on the lake was largely a matter of military 
expeditions, including their equipment and sustenance. 
Differing in most respects in method, in reality it was 
still the same kind of traffic that had been carried on in 
this valley for unnumbered centuries before the white 
men came; and it all spelled War. 

With the declaration of peace, and the great influx 
of settlers into the valley the business of lake transporta- 
tion immediately became an important one. With no 
railroads, few highways, and those little more than bridle 
paths, Lake Champlain offered a natural and easy route 
to all the region drained by this body of water and its 
tributary streams. Settlers came in boats in summer 
and drove with teams over the smooth surface of the ice 
in winter, seeking homes in the new country. 

In 1788, Benjamin Boardman, a sea-captain, who 
had been engaged in the coasting trade in the southern 
Atlantic region, and had made trips to the West Indies, 
with shrewd foresight saw that boats would be needed on 



A History of Lake Champlain 291 

a navigable body of water as large as Lake Champlain. 
Accordingly he came from Norwich, Conn., and settled on 
the Winooski River intervale, bringing with him a New 
London boat builder named Wilcox. 

During the same year, 1788, Gideon King came to 
Burlington from the Shaker settlement at New Lebanon, 
and erected a house near the lake, King street, in that 
city, being named in his honor. He was an active busi- 
ness man, and with Job Boynton soon built two small 
cutters of about eight tons burden, which plied between 
Burlington, Essex, and Pittsburgh. In 1790 King and 
Boynton obtained possession of two heavy schooners, 
which had been used for war purposes, and these were 
run between Burlington and St. Johns, one boat being 
fitted for carrying horses. Later King was John Jacob 
Astor's agent to look after the fur trade in this part of the 
country. Owing to his activity in building and oper- 
ating boats he was called "the admiral of the lake." 

In 1790 Boardman and Wilcox built a sloop of 30 
tons burden on the Winooski River, modelled after the 
New London type, which was greatly superior to any 
craft on the lake. After mills and a forge had been 
erected at Winooski this boat was used in carrying pro- 
visions to Plattsburgh. In the spring of 1793 the Dol- 
phin was built for King and the Burlington Packet for 
Boynton, both being vessels of about 25 tons burden, 
which were constructed at the foot of King street, Bur- 
lington. 

In 1795 a 30-ton sloop known as the Lady Washing- 
ton was built at the same yard by Russell Jones. Not- 
withstanding her patriotic name it is said that the vessel 
had a false bulkhead, and became notorious as a smug- 
gling craft. Another vessel about the size of the Lady 



292 A History of Lake Champlain 

Washington was built at Burlington in 1793 by Caleb B. 
Smith, a daring navigator In 1797 the 30-ton sloop 
Maria was built at Burlington for Gideon King by Rich- 
ard Fittock. 

There were no wharves at Burlington at that time, 
and it was possible for some vessels to enter the Cove and 
make fast to trees on the shore. Some cargoes were 
thrown overboard from vessels too heavily laden to 
come within several rods of the beach, and floated ashore, 
Fittock owned a scow called the Old Lion which was used 
as a lighter to bring ashore goods that needed to be han- 
dled more carefully than pork, beef, or liquors. He 
also kept a tavern in Burlington, and being a thrifty 
man, desirous of winning the custom of "all sorts and 
conditions of men", he placed over the door of his inn a 
sign, on one side of which was painted a portrait of 
Lord Nelson, the British naval hero, while on the 
other side was a picture of George Washington, "the 
Father of His Country." Thus the landlord aimed 
to attract both loyalists and friends of the govern- 
ment. Capt. Moses, Eggleston was also a prominent 
boat builder, but until the War of 1812 the lake traffic 
was largely controlled by Gideon King. 

It is said of King that during the period from 1790 to 
1815 that he furnished business for the greater part 
of the lake craft; and although many of them originally 
were built for others, he advanced money for their con- 
struction, and sooner or later they came into his 
hands in whole or in part, practically giving him con- 
trol of the lake craft. 

Other sailing vessels built during this period are 
given in the following table, compiled by the late Thomas 
H. Canfield, of Burlington: 






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294 A History of Lake Champlain 

During the War of 1812 the Saucy Fox sailed under 
the Spanish flag as a neutral vessel and was engaged in 
the fur trade. 

The principal captains and navigators of this early 
period were : Gideon King, Caleb B. Smith, Elijah 
Boynton, H. N. White, Daniel Davis, John Price, Rus- 
sell Jones, Almas Truman, of Burlington; Robert White 
Andrew White, and Lavater White, of Shelburne; Caleb 
Barton, Ephraim Lake, Elijah Newell, Levi Hinkley, of 
Charlotte; Joseph Treat, of Bridport; Eben Holabird, 
Reuben Holabird, of Georgia; Hiram Ferris of Chazy, 
N. Y. 

The military operations in the northern part of the 
lake during the War of 1812 stimulated business with 
Troy, Lansingburgh, and Albany, and a shipyard was 
established at Whitehall, N. Y. Between Whitehall 
and Troy merchandise was carried by teams. 

The year 1808 was made notable in the history of 
navigation on Lake Champlain by the building at Bur- 
lington of the world's second successful steamboat. The 
builders were James and John Winans and J. Lough and 
she was called the Vermont. This boat was built only a 
year after Fulton's Clermont was first operated on the 
Hudson River. The Vermont was launched sidewise, 
was stuck in the sand, and it was some time before the 
boat was floated. She was 120 feet long, 20 feet wide 
and of 167 tons burden. Fulton's Clermont was 100 feet 
long, 12 feet wide, and of 160 tons burden. 

There was only one room below the Vermont's deck, 
25 by 18 feet in size, fitted with berths along the side. A 
second hand engine of 20 horse power furnished the 
means of locomotion, and travel by this craft was very 
uncertain, owing to numerous breakdowns. The first 



A History of Lake Champlain 295 

regular trip was made in June, 1809. The Vermont was 
scheduled to make the trip from Whitehall to St. Johns 
in twenty-four hours, but the round trip usually con- 
sumed nearly a week. In moderate weather the Ver- 
mont could make five miles an hour, but with a stormy 
wind "Admiral" King's sloops could pass her icasily. 
Naturally there was a strong rivalry between the sailing 
vessels and the new steamer, and much rid'cule for the 
frequent accidents suffered by the Winans' boat. 

In October, 1815, the connecting rod became de- 
tached from the crank and was forced through the bot- 
tom of the Vermont, causing her to sink near Bloody 
Island, a few miles outh of Isle aux Noix, in the Rich- 
elieu River. Satisfied that there was a future for steam 
navigation such active business men as Cornelius P. Van 
Ness, Moses and Guy Catlin, of Burlington, and Amos 
W. Barnum of Vergennes, determined to establish a 
steamboat line on the lake. Enlisting the aid of Teunis 
Van Vechten, Abram G. Lansing, Isaiah and John 
Townsend, J. Ellis Winne, Samue T. Lansing, and Jo- 
seph Alexander, of Albany, N. Y., a charter for the Lake 
Champlain Steamboat Company was procured from the 
New York legislature March 12, 1813, the capital stock 
being 8100,000. Work was begun on the company's 
first boat during the winter of 1813-14, but the hull was 
only fairly started at Vergennes when Thomas Macdon- 
ough appeared on the scene with an urgent errand, 
the building of a fleet of warships. As a result of his 
visit the proposed steamboat did not turn out that kind 
of^a craft at all, but became the war schooner Ticonder- 
oga of glorious memory. 

Late that year, 1814, the new company laid the keel 
of another steamboat, the Phoenix, under the super- 



296 A History of Lake Champlain 

vision of Capt. Jehaziel Sherman, of Albany. He 
brought an engine and boiler from the Hudson River 
steamer Perseverance. Fulton and Livingston had been 
granted the exclusive privilege of navigating steam craft 
on the Hudson, and this shut out the Perseverance and 
the Hope owned by a rival company. The owners be- 
came interested in the Lake Champlain traffic seeing 
there with the eye of faith the possibility of a wider field 
for the exercise of the virtues of perseverance and hope 
than on the Hudson. The Phoenix was launched in 1815 
and began regular trips that year between Whitehall and 
St. Johns., under the command of Captain Sherman. 
The boat was 146 feet long, 27 feet wide, 9% feet deep, 
and was run by an engine of 45 horse power. A canvas 
awning was stretched over the main deck. Below there 
were cabins for ladies and gentlemen, handsomely fur- 
nished, and in the charge of Sion E. Howard, later a 
prominent business man of Burlington, as steward. 
The boat was also provided with a small state room, a 
sitting room, a smoking room, a barber shop, a kitchen 
and a pantry, a captain's office and a baggage room. The 
deck was not fitted up for the use of passengers. The 
fare for the trip from Whitehall to St. Johns, including 
meals, was $10. 

About 1 o'clock on the morning of Sept. 5, 1819, 
while between Colchester Point and Providence Island, 
the Phoenix was discovered to be on fire. The regular 
captain, Jehaziel Sherman, had been kept at home by ill- 
ness, and his son, Richard W. Sherman, then a young 
man, was in command. The passengers were aroused 
and two boats put off, eleven persons being left on board. 
Benches, boards and tables were thrown overboard in the 
hope of saving the lives of those who had remained on the 



A History of Lake Champlain 297 

burning steamer, but six persons, including one woman 
and a boy 12 years old, were drowned, not being able to 
swim. Captain Sherman was the last person to leave 
the Phoenix. Most of the survivors landed on Provi- 
dence Island, a few rinding refuge on Colchester Point. 

Among the passengers was John Howard, who was 
on his way to Montreal as a messenger from the Bank of 
Burlington with a bag containing $8,000. His son was 
the steward on the Phoenix. The younger Howard was 
one of two men to row a boat load of passengers to Provi- 
dence Island, and took the money with him. Consider- 
ing it his duty to return for the other survivors, he left 
the money with some of the passengers and on his re- 
turn it could not be found. In the confusion it had been 
stolen. One man was missing. He was pursued to 
Grand Isle, and overtaken on his way to Plattsburgh, by 
Sion E. Howard. The thief drew two large knives and 
showed fight but finally surrendered the money. 

In 1815 the Vermont legislature granted to the Lake 
Champlain Steamboat Company the exclusive privilege 
of navigating steam vessels on Lake Champlain for a 
period of twenty-three years, a penalty of $500 being 
fixed for each violation of his act. Later the federal 
courts declared such laws unconstitutional. 

During the winter of 1815-16 a steamer called the 
Champlain was built under the direction of Capt. George 
Brush, who commanded the vessel. The engine and 
boilers of the old Vermont were used and the boat was 
able to make about four miles an hour. About a year 
later the engine of the Phoenix was transferred to the 
Champlain, which increased her speed to six miles an 
hour, a new engine being installed in the Phoenix which 
gave her a speed of eight miles an hour. In 1817 the 



298 A History of Lake Champlain 

Champlain made two trips a week between Whitehall 
and St. Johns, but early in the season she was burned to 
the water's edge while lying at her dock at Whitehall. 

In 1818 a new steamboat called the Congress was 
built at Vergennes by Captain Sherman, Amos W. Bar- 
num, of Vergennes, Guy Catlin, of Burlington, and Teu- 
nis Van Vechten, of Albany. The engine and boilers of 
the Champlain were used. Capt. Daniel Davis com- 
manded her for about two years, and for a time the Con- 
gress was the only steamboat on the lake. In 1820 Capt. 
R. W. Sherman took command. During the winter of 
1819-20 the Champlain Steamboat Company built an- 
other boat called the Phoenix the engine built for the 
first Phoenix being used. Capt. Jehaziel Sherman com- 
manded and it was claimed that the new Phoenix was 
the fastest steamboat in the world. The Congress and 
the Phoenix made three trips a week between Whitehall 
and St. Johns, the fare one way being $6. 

As the Otter Creek was closed by ice early in the 
season it was determined in 1820 to remove the ship- 
yards of the Champlain Steamboat Company from 
Vergennes to Shelburne harbor, where several acres of 
land were purchased, and wharves, shops, ways, store- 
houses, and mills were built. 

Early in this century the construction of the Cham- 
plain Canal introduced a new factor in lake navigation. 
The Northern Inland Lock Navigation Company in 
1792 secured a charter for the construction of a canal be 
tween Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, and more 
than $100,000 was spent, although no real progess was 
made. In a report of the New York canal commission, 
made March 19, 1817, reference made to the de- 
sirability of a Champlain Canal, and the lumber 



A History of Lake Champlain 299 

and iron resources of the region and the great de- 
posits of Vermont marble are cited as arguments for the 
construction of such a water way. A preliminary survey 
was made and on April 15, 1817 a bill authorizing the 
construction of the Champlain Canal was passed by the 
New York legislature, work being begun the same 
year. Whitehall, at the head of Lake Champlain, and 
Waterford, on the Hudson River, were the terminal 
points. The canal was opened for traffic Oct. 8, 1823. 
The canal boat Gleaner, a craft built in St. Albans, 
owned by Julius Hoyt, N. W. Kingman, and John Taylor, 
of that town, commanded by Capt. William Burton, and 
carrying a cargo of wheat and potash, was the first boat 
to pass through the new waterway. The Gleaner was 
compelled to wait at Waterford a few days for the com- 
pletion of the locks into the Hudson. The boat was ac- 
companied to Troy by a procession of gaily dressed 
boats, and on her arrival at Troy she was met by a large 
crowd of people and greeted with a salute of artillery. 
Two of the proprietors, Mr. Hoyt and Mr. Kingman, 
were passengers on the Gleaner and they were escorted 
by a procession with music to the Troy House, where a 
public dinner was given in their honor. The boat was 
greeted at Albany, Poughkeepsie, and other large river 
towns, and at New York City exercises similar to those 
at Troy, but on a larger scale, were held in honor of 
the opening of the canal. A New York poet was in- 
spired to write a song on this occasion in which the St. 
Albans boat was called "the Barque of the Mountains." 
In 1822 Asa Eddy came to Whitehall and estab- 
lished a line of canal boats when the route was opened, 
which he continued to operate until 1831, selling the bus- 
iness at that time to Peter Comstock, who owned two or 



300 A History of Lake Champlain 

three boats prior to this purchase. Comstock formed a 
partnership with Barney and Martin of Whitehall, 
which was the beginning of the Northern Transportation 
line. In 1840 the business was sold to James H. Hooker, 
of Troy. Asa and Hiram Eddy organized the Northern 
line in 1834, selling it in 1837 to Eddy, Bascom & Comp- 
any. In 1842 this line of boats was sold to the Whitehall 
firm of Travis, Eddy & Company, which established the 
Six Day line, no boats being run on Sunday. 

Improvements now (1909) under way on the Cham- 
plain Canal will canalize the Hudson River from Water- 
ford to Fort Edward, and will enlarge and deepen the old 
waterway extending from the Hudson to Whitehall so 
that the prism of the canal will be 12 feet deep, 75 feet 
wide at the bottom, with locks 328 feet long and 45 feet 
wide, 11 feet of water over the mitre sills, admitting the 
passage of boats drawing from 10 to 10>^ feet of water, 
and carrying from 1,000 to 1,500 tons of freight. The 
expense of these improvements will be approximately 
$7,000,000. 

The construction of the Chambly Canal, in Canada, 
around the rapids of the Richelieu River, between 
Chambly Basin and St. Johns, was begun in 1831, sus- 
pended in 1835, resumed in 1840, and completed in 1843. 
The length of the canal is 12 miles. The waterway was 
made originally for a draught of \]/ 2 feet, but by dredg- 
ing and raising the height of the lock gates, the draught 
was increased to 6]/ 2 feet, there being 7 feet of water on 
the sills. The breadth of the canal at the bottom is 36 
feet, and at the surface, 60 feet. At St. Ours, 14 miles 
south of Sorel, the Richelieu is divided into two channels 
and a canal one-eighth of a mile long has been constructed 
to permit navigation, the draught being the same as that 



A History of Lake Champlain 301 

of the Chambly Canal. These canals and the Richelieu 
River form part of the Champlain water route between 
the St. Lawrence River and the Hudson River. 

The twenty years between 1825 and 1845 are said to 
have been the palmy days of sailing craft on the lake. 
Among the best known sloops and schooners were the 
Daniel Webster, the Henry Clay, the Montgomery, the 
General Scott, the Lafayette, the Hercules, the Billow, 
and the Water Witch. Captains Allen, Bush, Chamber- 
lain, Price, Stoughton, and Tisdale were among the 
most famous sailing masters of this period. 

Owing to delay in the shipment of dairy products 
and other goods, due in part to trans-shipments at 
Whitehall and Troy, Messrs. Follett and Bradley, of 
Burlington, in 1841, established the Merchants' line of 
high grade canal boats, sloop rigged, and able to stand 
heavy seas. At Whitehall the rigging of these boats 
was taken out to enable them to pass through the canal, 
and they were tow r ed down the Hudson to New York. 
Three or four days were saved to shippers by this line. A 
large patronage was secured and twenty or more boats 
were employed. Judge Follett retired in 1847 to be- 
come the president of the Rutland and Burlington Rail- 
road Company. The business of the Merchants' line 
was continued by Messrs. Bradley and Canfield, of Bur- 
lington, and Nichols, Barton and Chittenden, of St. 
Albans. Later it passed into the hands of Thomas H. 
Canfield, of Burlington. 

The New York and Canada line, established by 
Smith and Wilkins, of Burlington, also conducted a suc- 
cessful business. With the opening of the Rutland and 
Burlington and Vermont Central railroads, about 1853- 



302 A History of Lake Champlain 

54, much of the traffic was diverted to land routes, and 
the Merchants' line was discontinued. 

To resume the subject of steam navigation, the 
Vermont legislature of 1824 chartered the Champlain 
Ferry Company, granting permission to operate boats 
between Burlington and Port Kent. Burlington men 
were large stockholders, and Samuel Hickok, of that 
village, was the president. In July, 1825, the company 
opened the ferry with the steamer General Greene, a 
boat of 160 tons, propelled by a 30 horsepower engine. 
Capt. Dan Lyon was the commander. A few years 
later the steamer was converted into a sloop. A new 
steamer, the Winooski, was put in service on the ferry 
and the route was extended to St. Albans Bay. 

In 1821 a charter was granted to Charles McNeil, of 
Charlotte, and H. H. Ross, of Essex, N. Y., for a ferry 
between those towns, the distance being about three 
miles. At first the ferry was operated by means of an 
endless cable, six horses furnishing the motive power. 
In 1827 this company built the steamer Washington, but 
the cost of operation was too great to be profitable, and 
the boat was sold, being used at first for towing 
purposes and later being transferred to the Champlain 
Transportation Company. In 1848 this ferry company 
built the steamer Bouquet, but when the railroads begun 
to direct the lake traffic to the land routes, the boat was 
sold to persons in Canada. 

Late in the year 1826 a charter was granted by the 
Vermont legislature to Lawrence Brainerd, Julius Hoyt, 
William O. Gadcomb, N. W. Kingman, Noah B. Wells, 
Orange Ferris, George Green, Daniel Stevens Jr., and 
Joshua Doane, under the name of the St. Albans Steam- 
boat Company. N. W. Kingman was president and 



A History of Lake Champlain 303 

L. L. Dutcher was clerk. In 1828 Charles Lampson 
built the steamer Macdonough for the company and 
Capt. William Burton was made commander of the boat. 
This steamer plied between St. Albans Bay and Pitts- 
burgh, connecting at the latter place with the 
through boats. In 1835 the boat and the company's 
franchise were sold to the Champlain Transportation 
Company. 

In 1826 Ezra Meech, Martin Chittenden, Luther 
Loomis, Roswell Butler, Eleazer H. Deming, and Ste- 
phen S. Keyes secured a Vermont charter for the Cham- 
plain Transportation Company. The first board of di- 
rectors consisted of William A. Griswold, Samuel Hickok, 
Luther Loomis, James Dean, Jehaziel Sherman, Asa 
Eddy, Lawrence Brainerd, Peter Doolittle, and N. W. 
Kingman. Later the board was enlarged by the addi- 
tion of Timothy Follett, John Peck, Sion E. How- 
ard, George Moore, Andrew Thompson, Heman Cady, 
and Henry H. Ross. William A. Griswold was elected 
president and Philo Doolittle clerk and treasurer. 

In 1827 the steamer Franklin was built at St. Albans 
Bay for this company, Capt. Jehaziel Sherman superin- 
tending the work. This boat was very well equipped for 
that period, having an upper deck, and a ladies' cabin on 
the main deck. The fare between Whitehall and St. 
Johns was'reduced to $5. Capt. Jehaziel Sherman com- 
manded the Franklin during the short season of 1827, and 
then retired, being succeeded by Capt. Richard W. Sher- 
man, his son. In 1832 Capt. Jehaziel Sherman built a 
small steamboat at Fort Cassin called the Water Witch 
which plied between Whitehall and Vergennes. Later 
the boat was converted into a schooner and continued in 
service until about 1880. With more steamboats on the 



304 A History of Lake Champlain 

lake than the business of the region demanded, the Lake 
Champlain Steamboat Company became somewhat em- 
barrassed, sold its property in 1830 to Isaiah Townsend, 
and in 1833 was consolidated with the Champlain Trans- 
portation Company. In 1835 this corporation pur- 
chased the Water Witch, the property and rights of the 
Champlain Ferry Company, and that of the St. Aloans 
Steamboat Company. This left the company without a 
rival on the lake. The Franklin under Captain Sher- 
man, and the Phoenix under Captain Lyon, ran be- 
tween Whitehall and St. Johns while the Winooski, com- 
manded by Captain Flack, plied between Plattsburgh 
and St. Albans. 

Soon after this consolidation Peter Comstock began 
the construction of a steamboat at Whitehall, which the 
Champlain Transportation Company bought to avoid 
competition, Comstock pledging not to build another 
boat for eight years, or to oppose the company. The 
steamer was completed in 1838 and was named the 
Whitehall. As the boats of the company were becom- 
ing old another was built at Shelburne harbor, called the 
Burlington, which was completed in 1837. She was 190 
feet long, 25 feet wide, 9 feet deep, and had a speed of 
fifteen miles an hour. Both the Burlington and the 
Whitehall were excellent boats, Capt. R. W. Sherman 
commanding the former, and Capt. Dan Lyon, the 
latter. In 1841 the Saranac was built to take the place of 
of the Winooski plying between St. Albans and Bur- 
lington. 

In passing it should be said that Capt. Richard W. 
Sherman, the maternal grandfather of Vice President 
James S. Sherman, was one of the most famous of all the 
captains who have sailed upon Lake Champlain. Presi- 



A History of Lake Champlain 305 

dent Martin Van Buren, often one of his passengers, said 
of him: "He imagines that all of the world is the deck of 
a ship, and he the captain." In 1842 Charles Dickens, 
while making his American tour, passed through Lake 
Champlain. Although his criticisms of America and 
Americans were considered very harsh at the time, and 
were deeply resented in this country, yet his praise of 
Captain Sherman and the steamboat Burlington was ex- 
pressed in a wealth of superlatives. In his "American 
Notes" the famous novelist said: "There is one Ameri- 
can boat — the vessel which carried us on Lake Cham- 
plain from St% Johns to Whitehall — which I praise very 
highly, but no more than it deserves, when I say that it 
is superior even to that on which we went from Queens- 
ton to Toronto or to that on which we travelled from the 
latter place to Kingston, or I have no doubt I may add, 
to any other in the w r orld. This steamboat, which is 
called the Burlington, is a perfectly exquisite achieve- 
ment of neatness, elegance, and order. The decks are 
drawing rooms; the cabins are 'boudoirs, choicely fur- 
nished and adorned with prints, pictures, and musical 
instruments; every nook and corner of the vessel is a per- 
fect curiosity of graceful comfort and beautiful contri- 
vance. Captain Sherman, her commander, to whose 
ingenuity and excellent taste these results are solely 
attributable, has bravely and worthily distinguished 
himself on more than one trying occasion; not least 
among them in having the moral courage to carry Brit- 
ish troops at a time (during the Canadian rebellion) 
when no other conveyance was open to them. He and 
his vessel are held in universal respect, both by his own 
countrymen and ours; and no man ever enjoyed the 



306 A History of Lake Champlain 

popular esteem, who, in his sphere of action, won and 
wore it better than this gentleman. 

"By means of this floating palace we were soon in 
the United States again, and called that evening at Bur- 
lington, a pretty town, where we lay an hour or so. We 
reached Whitehall, where we were to disembark, at six 
next morning; and might have done so earlier, but that 
these steamboats lie by for some hours in the night, in 
consequence of the lake becoming very narrow at that 
part of the journey, and difficult of navigation in the 
dark. Its width is so contracted at one point, indeed, 
that they are obliged to warp round by means of a rope." 

The Champlain Transportation Company was not 
long without a rival, a charter being obtained from the 
New York legislature for the New York and Champlain 
Steamboat Company. Negotiations, however, were suc- 
cessful in arranging a consolidation of the new company 
with the old, and the fare through the lake was reduced 
to $3, with extra charge for meals and state rooms. As 
soon as the bargain was made for consolidation of the 
rival lines, Peter Comstock began building another boat 
at Whitehall, which he called the Francis Saltus, better 
known as the Saltus. The Champlain Transportation 
Company determined not to attempt to buy off or buy 
out any more rivals, and fitted up the Saranac as a com- 
petitor. In 1845 the Saltus began her trips with H. G. 
Tisdale as captain, the Saranac being commanded by 
Capt. P. T. Davis. Both steamers ran as day boats, 
and being scheduled to leave Whitehall at the same 
time naturally there was a keen rivalry. Stories are 
told of throwing pitch pine, barrels of tar, and other 
inflammable materials into the furnaces of these steam- 
boats in order to gain an advantage, sacrificing safety 



A History of Lake Champlain 307 

to speed. The passengers entered into these contests 
with great ardor, cheering wildly when their own boat 
led. Sometimes the Saranac won and at other times 
victory rested with the Saltus, the latter boat being 
considered, on the whole, the faster of the two. 

The Champlain Transportation Company, being on 
a better financial basis than its competitor, and having 
two night boats on the line which charged regular fare, 
was able to cut rates on the Saranac to fifty cents, and 
at times even as low as twenty-five cents. Comstock 
laid the keel for a new boat, the Montreal, but becoming 
financially embarrassed, he transferred the Saltus to 
persons in Troy. By a natural process the Saltus and the 
Montreal, in March, 1848, passed into the hands of the 
Champlain Transportation Company. The Montreal 
was burned in Maquam Bay in 1879. 

This company in 1847 launched another steamer, 
the United States, which was built at Shelburne by 
William Capes and Son, of New York. The boat was 
240 feet long, 28X feet wide, 9 feet deep, with 250 horse- 
power engines, a tonnage of 648, and cost $75,000. Her 
speed was nineteen miles an hour, while fifteen miles 
an hour was the best previous record. It is asserted that 
had Capes been allowed to carry out his original designs 
a speed even greater than this would have been devel- 
oped. This was the first boat on these waters to be 
equipped with staterooms on the upper deck. Capt. 
P. T. Davis was the commander, and regular trips were 
begun in August, 1847, the United States displacing the 
Saranac. 

In 1846 the Northern Transportation line built the 
James H. Hooker for freight and towing purposes. This 
boat was 136 feet long, 23 feet wide, and 7 feet deep. 



308 A History of Lake Champlain 

In 1847 the Vermont legislature granted a charter for 
a steam towboat company. The principal stockholders 
were John Bradley and Company, of Burlington, Nichols, 
Burton and Company, of St. Albans, and Charles F. 
Hammond, of Crown Point. This company controlled 
most of the^through canal boats. A powerful boat for 
towing and freight purposes, called the Ethan Allen, 
was built at Shelburne harbor, in 1847, at a cost of $36,- 
000. After running between Whitehall and Rouses 
Pointy for two years the boat was sold to the Vermont 
Central Railroad Company for the transportation of 
passenger and freight between Alburgh and Rouses 
Point. After the bridge connecting those point was built, 
the boat was sold to the Champlain Transportation 
Company, and later was transferred to the Northern 
Transportation Company, of Whitehall. The latter 
company, in 1856, built another boat of the same class 
called the Oliver Basconi. M 

! . In 1848 the Champlain Transportation Company 
ranftwo day boats and two night boats. In 1849 a 
majority of the stock of this company was transferred 
to Drew, Robinson and Company, of New York, pro- 
prietors of the North River steamers, and Oscar A. 
Burton, of St. Albans. The number of directors was re- 
duced from fifteen to seven. The Lake Champlain and 
Hudson River steamers with the railroad from White- 
hall to Troy as a connecting link, formed a through line 
under one management, known as the North and South 
Through line. 

Owing to the construction of railroads, Rouses 
Point, in 1851, was made the northern terminus of the 
lake steamers, instead of St. Johns. In 1851 Capt. T. 
D. Chapman built the fastest steamboat on the lake at 



A History of Lake Champlain 309 

Whitehall. She was called the R. W. Sherman, but 
later the name was changed to the America. This boat 
was 250 feet long, Z\y 2 feet wide, 9% feet deep, with a 
tonnage of 745, a speed of nineteen miles an hour and 
cost $80,000. In 1852 the Canada was built at White- 
hall by George L. Schuyler, of New York. Her dimen- 
sions were: Length, 260 feet; width, 33 feet; depth 
10 feet. Her tonnage was 881 ; her speed, eighteen and 
one-half miles an hour; and her cost, $100,000. i 

On Aug. 30, 1852, the Rutland and Burlington Rail- 
road Company bought all the property of the Cham- 
plain Transportation Company, but not the franchise 
and corporate rights. The steamboat service then was 
arranged to suit the schedules of the Rutland and Bur- 
lington and Whitehall and Troy railroads. This ven- 
ture did not prove the success that was anticipated and 
in the fall of 1853 the old company purchased all the 
boats it had sold with the exception of the Boston, which 
was used for ferrying and freight purposes between Bur- 
lington and Rouses Point; and the Francis Saltus, which 
had been sold to the Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroad 
Company. In 1856 Daniel Drew, Nelson Robinson, and 
Robert W. Kelley sold their stock in the company to 
persons interested in the Rensselaer and Saratoga and 
Whitehall railroads. The Adirondack was built at Shel- 
burne harbor for the Champlain Transportation Com- 
pany, under the direction of Elijah Root, and was 
launched Oct. 20, 1866, beginning service Aug. 5, 1867. 
She was 258 feet long, 34 feet wide, 11 feet deep and her 
speed was nineteen and one-half miles an hour. 

The Oakes Ames was built at Marks Bay, in South 
Burlington, in 1868, by Orson S. Spear, for the Rutland 
and Burlington Railroad Company. She was 255 feet 



310 A History of Lake Champlain 

long, 34 feet wide, and 11 feet deep, with a speed of nine- 
teen and one-half miles an hour. The boat was con- 
structed to carry cars between Burlington and Pitts- 
burgh, and was commanded at first by Capt. N. B. Proc- 
tor. This scheme did not prove successful and the boat 
was sold to the Champlain Transportation Company in 
1872. She was remodeled as a passenger boat, called the 
Champlain, and was run between Rouses Point and 
Whitehall, Capt. George Rushlow commanding. The 
boat ran on the rocks at Steam Mill Bay, about two and 
one-half miles north of Westport, about 10 o'clock on the 
morning of July 16, 1875. By lashing two gang planks 
together it was possible to transfer the passengers to the 
shore. The steamer Adirondack was hailed and took the 
passengers and a schooner took off the freight. Several 
hours after the wreck occurred a man, supposed to be 
dead, was found in the stateroom. The foot of the mat- 
tress was in the water, one end of the compartment was 
knocked in and the side was crushed in within four feet 
of where the man lay. He was not dead, however, but 
had slept through all the noise and confusion of the 
wreck. He proved to be a student who had recently 
gone through a very severe ordeal of examinations and 
had slept the sleep of complete exhaustion. 

The Grand Isle was built at Essex, N. Y., in 1869 by 
Orson S. Spear for Knowlton, Fortune and Tobias. The 
boat was not a success as a passenger steamer and was 
sold to the Northern Transportation Company. 

The A. Williams was built at Marks Bay in 1870 by 
A. B. Curtis for Warren Corbin and Andrew Williams. 
She was 125 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 9 feet deep, with 
a speed of twelve miles an hour. She was sold to the 



A History of Lake Champlain 311 

Champlain Transportation Company in 1872. In 1880 
she was rebuilt at Shelburne harbor. 

The L. J. N. Stark was built at Whitehall, in 1869, 
for the Northern Transportation Company. She was 
185 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 11 feet deep, with a 
speed of fourteen miles an hour. Capt. Richard Ar- 
buckle was her commander. The boat was burned at 
Point au Roche, in 1870. 

The Vermont was built at Shelburne harbor in 1871 
by L. S. White for the Champlain Transportation Com- 
pany. She was 271 feet long, 36 feet wide, 11 }4 feet 
deep, and had a speed of nineteen and one-half miles an 
hour. Her first commander was Capt. William H. 
Flagg. This boat was rebuilt in 1881. 

After the completion of the New York and Canada 
railroad in 1878 the northern terminal of the passenger 
steamers was changed from Rouses Point to Plattsburgh. 
The Maquam was built at South Hero in 1880 by A. J. 
Cookson for Warren Corbin. She was 145 feet long, 24 
feet wide, and 9 feet deep, with a speed of fourteen miles 
an hour. She was sold to the St. Johnsbury and Lake 
Champlain Railroad Company and began trips in 1881, 
Capt. B. J. Holt commanding. Later she was sold to 
the Champlain Transportation Company and was com- 
manded by Capt. F. J. Hawley for several years. 

On Oct. 30, 1868, the steamer River Queen ran on a 
ledge at Hathaway's Point off the St. Albans shore, and 
was sunk. This boat, a small craft, had been purchased 
in July, 1868, by Warren Corbin, of South Hero, for the 
St. Albans, Grand Isle and Plattsburgh Ferry Company. 
It was run between St. Albans Bay, Maquam and 
Plattsburgh, and was commanded by Capt. William 
Rockwell. 



312 A History of Lake Champlain 

The Grand Isle Steamboat Company was chartered 
by the Vermont legislature Nov. 10, 1869. The charter 
was amended Dec. 23, 1880, and the first meeting of the 
company was held Feb. 21, 1881. The steamer Rein- 
deer was built at Alburgh in 1881, by Capt. E. B. Rock- 
well. The boat was 181 feet long, 21 }4 feet wide, and 
9X feet deep, with a speed of sixteen miles an hour, and 
began her trips with Capt. E. B. Rockwell in command. 
She was run first as a passenger boat, then as a passenger 
and excursion craft, and finally for excursion parties only . 

The steamer Chateaugay was built at Shelburne 
harbor in 1888 for the Champlain Transportation Com- 
pany. Her dimensions are: Length, 205 feet; width, 
54 feet; depth, 9% feet. Her gross tonnage is 742; horse- 
power, 1,000; capacity, 1,200 persons. Her speed is 
twenty miles an hour and her cost, $101,000. 

The Vermont was built at Shelburne harbor, in 
1903, for the Champlain Transportation Company. Her 
length is 262 feet; her width, 62 feet; and her depth, \0 l A 
feet. The gross tonnage of the boat is 1,195; her horse- 
power, 1,800; and her capacity, 1,800 persons. The 
speed is twenty-three miles an hour, and the cost was 
$201,000. 

The Ticonderoga was built at Shelburne harbor in 
1906 for the Champlain Transportation Company. Her 
length is 220 feet; her width, 57>^ feet; and her depth, 
11 feet. The gross tonnage is 892; the horse-power, 
1,500; and the capacity, 1,500 persons. The steamer 
has a speed of twenty-three miles an hour, and cost 
$170,000. 

The Chateaugay, Vermont, and Ticonderoga have 
steel hulls. 



A History of Lake Champlain 313 

Some towing business on the lake is now done by 
the Ottawa Transportation Company. Much is also 
done by the Lake Champlain Transportation Company, 
of Whitehall, which owns several tug boats and a fleet 
of canal boats. 

There are many pleasure yachts on Lake Cham- 
plain, both steam and sailing craft and the large fleet 
of motor boats on these waters is rapidly increasing. 

An interesting feature in connection with Lake 
Champlain navigation is the "graveyard" for outworn 
ships at Shelburne harbor. Among the craft famous in 
their day that have been retired to this peaceful haven 
are the America, Phoenix, Congress, Franklin, Winooski, 
Burlington, Whitehall, Saranac, Francis Saltns, Canada, 
United States, A. Williams, Adirondack, Maquam, and 
Vermont. 

The following list of captains of Lake Champlain 
steamers and their terms of service was compiled for 
the most part by the late Capt. George Rushlow: 

John Winans Burlington. . . . . .1809-1815 

J. Sherman, Vergennes 1814-1827 

George Brush Montreal 1816-1818 

Daniel Davis Burlington 1819-1820 

R. W. Sherman . . . .Vergennes 181 8- 1847 

George Burnham . . . Burlington 1 821- 1823 

Gideon Lathrop Lockport, N. Y 1 823-1 850 

I. R. Harrington.... Buffalo 1827-1828 

Dan Lyon Burlington 1825-1844 

Ebenezer Hurlbut . .Georgia 1828-1829 

James H. Snow Whitehall 1828-1829 

William Burton St. Albans 1831-1833 

William Anderson. . . Burlington 1831-1877 

W. W. Sherman. . . .Vergennes 1832-1834 

Henry Mayo Burlington 1834- 1884 

C. Boardman Whitehall 1835-1839 

R. N. Flack Essex, N. Y 1836-1838 

William Phillips Burlington 1838-1842 

P. T. Davis Burlington 1 843-1 858 



314 A History of Lake Champlain 

H. G. Tisdale Whitehall 1845-1868 

Silas Hinckley Burlington 1846-1860 

T. D. Chapman .... Burlington 1847-1852 

M. B. Proctor Burlington 1847-1872 

L Chamberlin Pittsburgh 1 848-1 860 

John O'Grady Burlington 1849-1854 

A. Brainard Elizabethtown N.Y .1844-1850 

H. R. Snvder Port Kent 1850-1860 

Seth R. Foster New York City 1853-1857 

Moses Baxter Chicago, 111 1852-1854 

William H. Flagg. . .Burlington 1852-1874 

A. D. Vaughn Whitehall 1857-1862 

Richard Chapin Whitehall 1857-1862 

Z. R. Stetson Champlain, N. Y. ..1860-1862 

B. J. Holt Pittsburgh 1868-1887 

Warren Corbin South Hero 1 869-1 873 

George Rushlow. . . .Highgate 1870-1892 

E. B.Rockwell Alburgh 1881-1885 

F. J. Hawley Swanton 1882-1903 

E. J. Baldwin Burlington 1884- 

Bernard Sawyer Whitehall 1 885-1895 

E. R. Rockwell 1903- 

W. Warren Rockwell . . 1904- 

James Truman, of Burlington; Robert White, of 
Shelburne; William Rockwell, and others, also com- 
manded steamers. 

In 1893 the office of general manager of the Cham- 
plain Transportation Company was created and Capt. 
George Rushlow was appointed to the position. He was 
succeeded in 1903 by D. C. Loomis. 

Among the men who have served longest on the 
lake or in connection with its traffic are: Hiram Ferris, 
pilot on the first "Vermont" in 1809, who continued to 
act in that capacity on various boats for the greater 
part of the time until 1858; Elijah Root, employed for 
54 years by the Champlain Transportation Company, 
most of the time as chief engineer and superintendent 
of construction and repairs; and E. B. Rockwell, who 
has been on the lake at the present time (1909) 69 years, 



A History of Lake Champlain 315 

53 years of which he has held a pilot's license, serving 
as captain and pilot much of this time. 

Col. Legrand B. Cannon was president of the Cham- 
plain Transportation Company for more than thirty 
years. 

The first lighthouse on Lake Champlain was built 
in 1826 on Juniper Island, a few miles off the Burlington 
shore. The Vermont legislature in 1828 ceded to the 
United States government, at its option, either Juniper 
Island or five acres of land onAppletree Point as a site 
for a light tower, and the island was chosen. The next 
lighthouses to be built on the lake were at Split Rock 
and Cumberland Head. 

The lights to aid navigation, maintained at the 
present time (1909) by the United States on Lake Cham- 
plain, are given herewith: Windmill Point light station, 
Alburgh, tower 40 feet high, Rouses Point pierhead 
light station, lantern on post. 

Isle La Motte light station, lantern on tower 25 feet 
high, dwelling one and a half stories. 

Pointe au Roche light station, limestone tower 50 
feet high. 

Gordon Landing pierhead light station, Grand 
Isle, lantern on post. 

Cumberland Head light station, limestone tower 50 
feet high, connected by covered way with dwelling. 

Plattsburgh breakwater light station, two beacon 
lights 27 feet high. 

Bluff Point light station, tower 36 feet high on lime- 
stone dwelling. 

Colchester Reef light station, octagonal tower 35 
feet high, connected with dwelling. 



316 A History of Lake Champlain 

Burlington breakwater north extension pierhead, 
north end light station, portable beam; Burlington north 
extension pierhead south end light station, lantern on a 
post ; Burlington breakwater south light, portable beacon. 

Juniper Island light station, tower 25 feet high, con- 
nected with dwelling by covered way. 

North Hero light, lantern on a stake on a pyramidal 
crib. 

South Hero light, lantern on a stake on a pyramidal 
crib. 

Split Rock light station, limestone tower 39 feet 
high, connected with dwelling by covered way. 

Otter Creek light station, conical pier supporting a 
post. 

Barber Point light station, near Westport, octag- 
onal tower on a dwelling. 

Crown Point light station, limestone tower 55 feet 
high connected by covered way with dwelling. 

Watch Point (Vt.) light station, small wooden 
house surmounted by a post with bracket from which 
lantern is suspended. 

All the lights mentioned hereafter are between 
Whitehall Narrows channel and the town of Whitehall: 
Old Maid Place light, movable beacon with number on 
side; Lower End of Four Channels and Narrows light, 
movable beacon with number on side; Pulpit Point light, 
stake in pyramidal crib, with number on side; Above 
Pulpit Point light, movable beacon with number on 
side; Opposite Belden Dock light, movable beacon with 
number on side; Chilson Bend light, movable beacon 
with number on side; Lower-end of Two Channels light, 
movable beacon with number on side; Maple Bend light, 
a mast with a pier foundation, with number on side; 



A .History of Lake Champlain 317 

Head of Two Channels light, movable beacon with num- 
ber on side; Long Reach light, moveable beacon with 
number on side; Steam Mill Point light, movable beacon 
with number on side; South of Sandy Dock 
light, moveable beacon with number on side; Opposite 
Chapman Dock light, stake on pier foundation, with 
number on side; Cosey Camp light, movable beacon, 
with number on side; Benjamin Place light, post on 
pyramidal crib, with number on side. 



318 A History of Lake Champlain 



CHAPTER XVI 
SOME LA KE C HA MPLA INI NCIDE NTS 

A few scattered incidents of importance connected 
with the history of Lake Champlain, although having 
no consecutive relation, deserve to be mentioned in this 
book, as do some facts relative to the development of 
the Champlain valley. 

On July 22, 1811, a flood of unusual severity occurred 
in this region. Several lives were lost, houses and barns 
were swept away, and hardly a mill was left standing 
on a stream included in a section extending from the 
southern part of Lake Champlain across the State to 
the Connecticut River. Thirty years later evidences of 
this freshet were plainly visible. Another terrible flood 
was experienced in 1830. From July 15 to July 21 of 
that year the temperature every day ranged from 91 
to 94 degrees in the shade. On Saturday afternoon, 
July 24, rain began to fall, and continued with slight 
intermission until the following Thursday noon, July 
29. During the five days of the storm the rainfall at 
Burlington exceeded seven inches, and of this amount 
3.85 inches fell on July 26 in about sixteen hours. The 
storm was accompanied often by severe thunder and 
lightning. The water rushed down the sides of hills 
and mountains in torrents. Crops were destroyed, and 
houses, bridges, and fences were carried away. Hardly 
a mill was left upon a stream. The country to the height 
of fifteen feet above the ordinary level of streams was one 



A History of Lake Champlain 319 

vast sheet of water. The Winooski and New Haven 
river valleys suffered most. On July 27 the Winooski 
River was from four to twenty feet higher than ever 
before known, according to the width of the channel. 
About midnight on July 26, the New Haven River hav- 
ing risen to an unprecedented height, was diverted from 
its ordinary channel above the little mill settlement of 
Beeman's Hollow, and following a highway swept down 
with a head of ten or twelve feet. Twenty-one persons 
were carried away with the wreckage of houses and mills 
and only seven escaped. One man, Lemuel B. Eldridge, 
was carried into a cornfield, and here, on a little rise of 
land, he was able to stand until morning, keeping his 
head above water. The other survivors were saved by 
clinging to rocks or trees. The rainfall at Burlington 
for the year 1830 amounted to 59.3 inches. 

In July, 1817, President James Monroe travelled 
from Whitehall to Plattsburgh on a steamer arriving at 
the latter place on July 27. He also visited Burlington. 

In July, 1818, the body of Gen. Richard Mont- 
gomery, killed in the assault on Quebec December 31, 
1775, and buried near the ramparts of that city, was 
disinterred and taken to New York City for burial. It 
was conveyed through Lake Champlain on the steamer 
Phoenix, which was draped in black, the flags flying at 
half mast. 

In the summer of 1825 General Lafayette visited 
Vermont and New York, going south from Burlington 
on a lake steamer. President Martin Van Buren visited 
the lake during his term of office. In 1840 Henry Clay 
came to Burlington on a lake steamer. 

After the execution of John Brown, Dec. 2, 
1859, following his attempt to free the slaves at Harpers 



320 A History of Lake Champlain 

Ferry, Va., Gov. Henry A. Wise delivered the body to 
Mrs. Brown, who brought it by train to New York, then 
up the Hudson by boat, and thence by rail to Vergennes. 
It was so late in the season that the line steamers no 
longer were running. The body was taken by team to 
Adams' Ferry, and across the lake to Barber's Point 
and Westport, where the funeral party remained over 
night, going to North Elba, N. Y., Brown's home, the 
following day. Wendell Phillips, the famous orator and 
anti-slavery leader, was one of the party. The funeral 
was held Dec. 8, Rev. Joshua Young, of Burling- 
ton, being the officiating clergyman. On his return from 
North Elba Phillips addressed a great audience at Ver- 
gennes. 

On Aug. 7, 1872, President and Mrs. U. S. Grant 
accompanied by their sons Frederick and Jesse, Gen. 
P. H. Sheridan and Gen. Horace Porter, arrived at Pitts- 
burgh from the Thousand Islands. On August 8 the 
party crossed the lake on the steamer Vermont and were 
cordially welcomed to Burlington, where a large and 
informal reception was held at the American Hotel. 
The party proceeded south on the lake as far as Crown 
Point, being enthusiastically received at every lake port 
by large crowds. 

On the morning of Aug. 25, 1891, President Ben- 
jamin Harrison left Saratoga, N. Y., and arrived at Bur- 
lington, where he addressed a large crowd. In the after- 
noon the President and his party embarked on Col. 
W. Seward Webb's steam yacht Elfrida and proceeded 
to Maquam Bay, where a special train took the dis- 
tinguished guest to St. Albans. 

in the summer of 1897 President William Mc- 
Kinley spent his vacation at Hotel Champlain, Bluff 



A History of Lake Champlain 321 

Point, N. Y., near Plattsburgh. On Aug. 4, 1897, 
President McKinley, Vice-President and Mrs. Garrett A. 
Hobart, Secretary of War and Mrs. Russell A. Alger 
visited Burlington, crossing the lake on the steamer 
Maquam. On Aug. 9 the President again visited Bur- 
lington, Col. H. W. Putnam's steam yacht Washita 
being placed at his disposal. 

On Sept. 5, 1901, Vice-President Theodore 
Roosevelt came to Burlington to address the Vermont 
Officers' Reunion Society. The next day he went to 
Isle La Motte as the guest of the Vermont Fish and Game 
League, going on the steamer Chateaugay. After the 
banquet the Vice-President retired to the home of for- 
mer Lieut. Gov. N. W. Fisk to rest, and while there 
received a telephone message announcing the assassin- 
ation of President McKinley, at Buffalo. A scene of 
happy festivities was changed in a moment to one of 
deepest mourning as Senator Redfield Proctor, in a 
voice trembling with emotion, announced the sad news 
to the assembled audience. Colonel Roosevelt returned 
to Burlington on Dr. W. Seward Webb's yacht Elfrida, 
and left by train for Buffalo. 

Probably the lumber industry is the oldest on Lake 
Champlain, some of the earliest settlers having been 
engaged in transporting timber to Canada. About 1855 
a large amount of lumber began to be shipped from 
Canada to Burlington, the quantity increasing until 
in 1878 it reached a total of more than 200,000,000 feet 
that year. At this time Burlington was considered the 
third lumber market in the United States, Chicago being 
first and Albany second. Since then the lumber business 
on Lake Champlain has decreased in volume. 



322 A History of Lake Champlain 

For nearly a century the working of the iron 
ore deposits of Essex county, N. Y., Has been one of the 
important industries of the Champlain valley. The open- 
ing of the Champlain Canal stimulated the trade and 
in 1827 the first blast furnace was built at Port Henry. 
According to Hon. F. S. Witherbee there had been built 
at Port Henry by 1865 "eight blast furnaces, at least 
twenty forges and three rolling mills and two foundries. 
Iron ore was being shipped in large quantities to the 
blast furnaces elsewhere in the state, and even to Pitts- 
burgh. In fact Lake Champlain ores were used in Pitts- 
burgh before those of Lake Superior." 

The military post at Plattsburgh was established 
in 1815. It was maintained with accommodations for 
two companies until 1890, when it was converted into 
a full regimental post. 

In June, 1826, it was decided by the United States 
government to establish an arsenal at Vergennes, and in 
1827 the principal buildings were completed. There 
were officers' quarters, a magazine, a gun house, a labor- 
atory and shops at this place. The arsenal building was 
three stories in height and was constructed of stone. 
Later this property was sold and the arsenal was aban- 
doned, the buildings being turned over to the State of 
Vermont for an Industrial School. 

Through the efforts of Senator Proctor, of Vermont, 
formerly secretary of war, Congress passed a bill to 
establish a cavalry post in the town of Colchester, be- 
tween the villages of Winooski and Essex Junction, and 
not far from Burlington. This reservation was called 
Fort Ethan Allen, the construction of the first building 
being begun in May, 1893. 



A History of Lake Champlain 323 

Burlington became a city in 1895 and Plattsburgh, 
in 1902, these two ports being the most populous and 
important on the lake. The extension of the main line 
of the Delaware and Hudson railroad from Whitehall 
to Plattsburgh in 1874 added to the importance of this 
lake town. In 1890 the Plattsburgh State Normal School 
was opened, and in 1895 the Catholic Summer School 
of America held its first session at Cliff Haven, N. Y., 
near Plattsburgh. 

St. Albans became a city in 1897. 

The Champlain valley is growing rapidly in popu- 
larity with summer tourists. With natural advantages 
unsurpassed by any region, it should become one of the 
great summer playgrounds of America. The first large 
summer hotel to be erected on Lake Champlain, at 
Bluff Point, N. Y., was built in 1889. 

While it is a difficult matter to include in any com- 
pilation all the names of famous men who have been 
associated with the history of Lake Champlain, such a 
list must include Samuel Champlain, Father Jogues, 
Governor de Courcelles, Marquis de Tracy, Arendt 
Van Corlear, Gen. John Winthrop, M. de Beaujeu, M. de 
Contrecoeur, Baron Dieskau, General Montcalm, Gen- 
eral de Levis, General de Bourlamaque, General Bou- 
gainville, Gen. William Johnson, General Webb, Gen. 
James Abercrombie, Gen. Jeffrey Amherst, Lord Howe, 
Gen. Phineas Lyman, Col. Ephraim Williams, Thomas 
Gage, John Stark, Israel Putnam, Capt. Charles Lee, 
Ethan Allen, Ira Allen, Remember Baker, Samuel Her- 
rick, Seth Warner, Ebenezer Allen, Gov. Thomas Chit- 
tenden, Benedict Arnold, Silas Deane, Gen. David 
Wooster, Gen. Henry Knox, Maj. John Andre, Gen. 
Philip Schuyler, Gen. Richard Montgomery, Gen. John 



324 A History of Lake Champlain 

Sullivan, Gen. Horatio Gates, Robert R. Livingston, 
Robert Treat Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Car- 
roll, of Carrollton, Gen. Anthony Wayne, Thaddeus 
Kosciuszko, Gen. Arthur St. Clair, Capt. Thomas 
Pringle, Sir Guy Carleton, Gen. John Burgoyne, General 
Phillips, General Fraser, Lord Balcarras, General von 
Reidesel, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, Marquis de La- 
fayette, Gov. George Clinton, Col. Zebulon Pike, Capt. 
Thomas Macdonough, Capt. George Downie, Gen.James 
Wilkinson, Gen. Wade Hampton, Gen. Alexander Ma- 
comb, Maj. John E. Wool, and Sir George Prevost. 

For two centuries Lake Champlain was chiefly the 
scene of warfare. For the past century its history has 
been principally a record of commerce and recreation. 
Its story of three hundred years, written often in letters 
of blood, has been one of patriotic achievements and 
thrilling adventures, second to that of no portion of the 
continent of North America. 

As lovely to-day as when it first gladdened the sight 
of the great French explorer, through all the four seasons 
Lake Champlain presents an ever changing panorama for 
the delight of all who, having eyes, are able to see Na- 
ture in her fairest moods. When, to the charm of 
natural beauty, is added a knowledge of the notable 
events that have played an important part in the his- 
tory of three great nations, the past and the present 
unite in giving to the Champlain valley a place unique 
in the Western World. 

THE END. 



INDEX 



Abenakis, 83, 102, 207. 
Abercrombie, Gen., 89, 92, 94. 

95, 96, 97, 100, 109, 207, 211, 

323. 
Acland, Maj. John Dyke, 205, 

216. 
Addison, 57, 67, 109, 114, 236. 
Addison county, 236, 258. 
Albany, N. Y., 40, 41, 50, 51, 

52, 53, 54, 57, 72, 73, 75, 78, 

95, 114, 120, 122, 125, 141, 

149, 161, 176, 186, 188, 199, 

202, 206, 224, 230, 294, 295, 

296, 298, 299, 321. 
Alburgh, 56, 57, 67, 234, 308, 

312, 314, 315. 
Algonquins, 20, 28, 29, 43, 

44, 51, 207. 
Allen, Capt. Ebenezer, 222, 

225, 224, 231, 323. 
Allen, Ethan, 116, 117, 118, 

120, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 

132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 13S, 



139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 145, 
147, 148, 149, 150, 154, 157, 
158, 159, 163, 164, 165, 166, 
167, 172, 173, 214, 232, 235, 
323. 

Allen Ira, 118, 120, 134, 138, 
144, 150, 218, 235, 323. 

Amherst, Port, 101, 173. 

Amherst, Gen., 89, 90, 98, 100, 
101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 
107, 109, 114, 132, 323. 

Andre, John, 162, 174, 323. 

Appleton Point, 315. 

Arnold, Benedict, 124, . 131, 
132, 134, 135, 140, 141, 142, 
143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 149, 
150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 
157, 159, 162, 163, 167, 168, 
173, 174, 175, 177, 178, 185, 
186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 
192, 193, 194, 196, 198, 199, 
200, 212, 323. 

Ausable River, 18. 



B 



Baker, Remember, 118, 140, 

150, 169, 170, 323. 
Balcarras, Lord, 205, 216, 324. 
Bancroft, 74, 78, 89, 179. 
Basin Harbor, 240. 
Battery Park, 239, 244, 265. 
Beach, Gershorn, 128, 129. 
Bearne, 84, 61, 93. 
Bedel, Col., 171. 
Beekmantown, N. Y., 233, 

268, 269, 281. 
Beeman, Nathan, 135. 
Bennington, 124, 125, 126, 128, 



216, 218, 223, 225, 226, 235. 
Benson, 132, 236. 
Black Watch, 93. 
Bloomfield. Gen. Joseph, 239. 
Boquet River, 18, 60, 111, 

187, 194, 207, 225, 260. 
Boston, 34, 51, 55, 123, 140, 

160, 161, 162, 163, 181, 245, 

246, 257, 261. 
Bougainville, 80, 82, 87, 99, 

107 323. 
Braddock, Gen., 59, 71, 72, 73, 

89. 



326 



Index 



Bradstreet, John, 81, 92, 97. 

Brandon, 128, 231. 

Bridport, 57, 115, 116, 133, 
230, 236, 294. 

Bristol, 57, 58. 

British, 33, 34, 50, 53, 54, 56, 
57, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76. 
77, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 
90, 91, 92, 93, 95, 97, 98, 
99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 
107, 108, 111, 123, 128, 130, 
136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 
143, 144, 145, 152, 162, 164, 
170, 173, 174, 176, 177, 178, 
188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 
194, 195, 196, 197, 199, 200, 
201, 202. 203, 204, 205, 206, 
207, 209, 211, 212, 213, 214, 
215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 
221, 222, 225, 228, 230, 232, 
233, 235, 237, 240, 242, 243, 
244, 246, 247, 248, 249, 251, 
252, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 
261, 262, 268, 269, 270, 271, 



274, 275, 277, 278, 279, 290, 

281, 282, 283, 285, 286, 288, 
305. 

Brown, John, 122, 123, 124, 
125, 139, 166, 168. 

Brown, John (Anti-Slavery 
Leader), 319. 

Bull, Epaphras, 125, 126, 137. 

Burgoyne, Gen., 95, 178, 204, 

205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 

211, 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 

223, 224, 224, 226, 282, 283, 
324. 

Burlington, 48, 58, 59, 118, 

235, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 

244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 

250, 252, 253, 257, 258, 259, 

265, 284, 286, 287, 291, 292, 

293, 294, 295, 296, 298, 301, 

302, 304, 306, 308, 309, 310, 

313, 314, 315, 316, 318, 319. 
320, 321, 322, 323. 

Burr, Aaron, 175. 



Caldwell's Upper Manor, 57. 

Callender, Amos, 116, 134, 141. 

Canada, 18, 33, 35, 38, 41, 45, 
48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 59, 63, 
70, 71, 72, 82, 85, 96, 97, 98, 
99, 100, 102, 103, 107, 108, 
109, 110, 111, 118, 122, 141, 
155, 156, 158, 163, 164, 167, 
168, 175, 176, 178, 179, 180, 
183, 197, 205, 221, 224, 225, 
228, 231, 238, 244, 249, 255, 
256, 267, 300, 302, 321. 

Carignan, 39, 42, 43, 45. 

Carillon, Fort, 75, 80, 82, 83, 
84, 85, 87, 88, 90, 91, 95, 96, 
98, 99, 100. 

Carleton, Gov., 141, 158, 161, 
164, 167, 174, 189, 190, 193, 
195, 196, 197, 199, 201, 204, 
205, 221, 232, 324. 

Carroll, Charles, 176, 324. 

Carroll, John, 176. 



Cartier, Jacques, 107. 
Cassin, Fort, 258, 260, 303. 
Cassin, Lieut, Stephen, 252, 

259, 272, 279, 283, 284. 
Castleton, 118, 126, 128, 130, 

131, 132, 141, 147, 185, 215, 

216, 219, 220, 230. 
Chambly, 25, 52, 53, 59, 105, 

106, 143, 168, 174, 178, 186, 

266. 
Chambly Basin, 20, 24, 300. 
Chambly Canal, 19, 300, 301. 
Chambly, M. de, 39, 44, 45. 
Chambly Rapids, 20, 21, 22. 
Champlain Canal, 19, 298, 299, 

300, 322. 
Champlain, Samuel, 20, 21, 

22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 

32, 33, 34, 48, 50, 107, 323. 
Champlain, town of, 234, 239, 

256, 257, 265, 266, 267, 282, 

314. 



Index 



327 



Champlain Transportation 
Company, 302, 303, 304, 306, 
307, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 
315. 

Chandler, Gen. John, 240. 

Charlevoix, 41, 55. 

Charlotte, 113, 236, 294, 302. 

Charlotte County, 109, 152. 

Chateaugay, 233, 251, 256. 

Chazy River, Big, 18, 59, 106, 
251. 

Chazy River, Little, 18. 

Chazy, M. de, 39. 

Chazv, N. Y., Ill, 215, 234, 
239, 247, 251, 257, 262, 266, 
267, 268, 272, 281, 294. 

Chimney Point, 62, 68, 109, 
114. 

Chittenden County, 236, 258. 

Chittenden, Gov. Martin, 253, 
254, 255, 258, 259, 282, 303. 

Chittenden, Gov. Thomas, 119, 
323. 

Churchill, Lieut. Sylvester, 

244, 247. 
Clarendon, 228. 

Clark, Isaac, 229, 239, 244, 

245, 251, 256. 
Clinton County, 234, 268. 
Clinton. Gov., 231, 233, 324. 
Colchester, 59, 118, 235, 322. 
Colchester Point, 296, 297. 
Congress, 124, 136, 137, 138, 

139, 147, 149, 150, 151, 153, 
173, 177, 185, 186, 201, 202, 



204, 217, 232, 263, 270, 283, 

322 

163! 164, 165, 166, 171, 172, 

L55, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 

Connecticut, 82, 73, 74, 76, 93, 
100, 114, 124, 125, 126, 127, 
128, 131, 134, 137, 140, 141, 
147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 157, 
158, 166, 167, 180, 185, 218, 
226, 236, 284. 

Connecticut River, 34, 54, 103, 

104, 105, 120, 132, 157, 318, 
Corlaer Arendt, 19, 40, 47, 

323. 
Corlaer, Lake, 19. 
Cornwall, 57. 
Crab Island, 271, 279, 280, 

282, 286. 
Crown Point, 32, 33, 51, 52, 

53, 55, 62, 68, 70, 72, 73, 74, 

81, 89, 100, 101, 102, 103, 

105, 106, 109, 111, 114, 120, 
121, 123, 124, 128, 130, 140, 
142. 143, 144, 148, 149, 151, 
152, 153, 155, 156, 157, 163, 
166, 167, 168, 170, 171. 172, 
176. 179, 185, 186, 187, 188, 
189, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197. 
209, 216, 225, 231, 232, 233, 
234, 308, 316, 320. 

Cumberland County, 121. 
Cumberland Head, 111, 188, 

206, 247, 251, 252, 266, 274, 

279, 280, 283, 315. 



Darling. Charles H., 241, 262, 

274. 
Deane, Silas, 124, 148, 323. 
Dearborn, Gen. Henry, 239, 

240, 241. 
De Beauharnois, Marquis, 55, 

60. 
De Bourlamaque, 80, 91, 93, 

94, 98, 100, 101, 106, 323. 
De Casson, Father, 45, 46. 



De Courcelles, 39, 40, 41. 42, 

43, 323. 
Defiance, Mt, 96, 203, 212, 

222. 
De Fredenburgh, Charles. 

112, 233. 
Delaplace. Capt, 127, 135, 136, 

137, 139, 146. 
De Levis, 80, 82, 84, 86, 92, 

93, 323. 



328 



Index 



De Lotbiniere, 57, 80. 

De Rouville, 54. 

De Tracy, Marquis, 42, 43, 45, 

323. 
De Warm, 52, 53. 
Dewey, Capt. Elijah, 218. 
Diamond Island, 223. 
Dickens, Charles, 305. 
Dieskau, Gen., 71, 74, 75, 76, 

77, 78, 79, 80, 323. 



Douglass, Capt. Charles, 186, 

187, 197. 
Dorr, Mrs. Julia C. R., 129. 
Downie, Capt. 271, 272, 273, 

275, 276, 277, 278, 280, 284, 

324. 
Duer, Judge, 152. 
Duquesne, 70, 71, 72, 89. 
Dutchman's Point, 233. 



E 

East Creek, 203, 212. 322. 

Easton, James, 125, 126, 132, Essex Junction, Vt., 322. 

134, 136, 150, 166, 169. Essex, N. Y., 18, 176, 234, 

Elizabethtown, 234, 314. ■ 236, 259, 291, 293, 302, 310, 

Essex County, N. Y., 234, 268, 313. 



Fairfax, 56. 

Fairfield, 59. 

Fair Haven, 236. 

Fay, John, 218. 

Fay, Jonas, 166. 

Ferris, Peter, 113, 176. 

Ferrisburgh, 58, 113, 236. 

Fiske, John, 78. 

Fort Ann, 214, 220, 222, 232. 

Fort Edward, 73, 79, 82, 83, 
84, 85, 86, 95, 128, 213, 214, 
220, 221, 224, 232, 300. 

Fort Ethan Allen, 322. 

Fort William, 117, 229. 

Four Brothers Islands, 19, 
202, 260. 

Francis, Col., 214. 

Franklin, Benj., 167, 176, 177, 



324. 

Franklin County, N. Y., 234. 

Franklin County, Vt., 236, 
237, 258. 

Franklin, town of, 59. 

Fraser, Gen. Simon, 205, 211, 
214, 215, 224, 324. 

French, 33, 34, 38, 40, 41, 42, 
43, 44, 48, 50, 52, 53, 54, 
55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 
63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 
72, 74, 75, 76, 77 78, 79, 
80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 
90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 
98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 
106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 
114, 118, 137, 170, 198, 203, 
222, 224, 235, 324. 



G 



Gage, Thomas, 72, 90, 140, 

160, 323. 
Garden Island, 192. 
Gates, Gen. Horatio, 72, 179, 

181, 185, 186, 188, 196, 197, 

202, 224, 230, 324. 



George, Fort, 141, 220, 232. 

George III, King, 89, 142, 224. 

George, Lake, 18, 29, 32, 33, 
46, 55, 57, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 
79, 81, 82, 83, 90, 91, 92, 93, 
95, 99, 100, 114, 123, 128, 



Index 



320 



141, 155, 156, 158, 161, 162, 

167, 176, 181, 196, 199, 203, 

207, 211, 216, 220, 221, 222, 

224, 231, 234, 266. 
Georgia, town of, 59, 119, 235, 

294, 313. 
Germaine, Lord George, 217, 

224 
Germans, 55, 89, 112, 192, 

205, 206, 211, 215, 235. 
Gilliland, William, 111, 112, 

134, 164, 170, 176. 
Gloucester County, 121. 
Goodhue, 128, 139. 
Grand Isle, 19, 112, 190, 202, 



Grant, Ulysses S., 320. 
234, 297. 

Grand Isle County, 25. 

Granville, N. Y., 219. 

Green, John Richard, 69, 70, 
71, 107. 

Green Mts., 18, 29, 54, 230, 
232. 

Green Mountain Boys, 109, 
114, 115, 117, 120, 122, 123, 
124, 126, 128, 132, 136, 137, 
146, 148, 149, 151, 154, 165, 
166, 169, 170, 174, 175, 225, 
239. 

Guienne, 84, 93. 



Haldimand, Gen., 57, 232. 
Halsey, 126, 137, 152, 153. 
Hampton, Gen. Wade, 245, 

246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 252, 

256, 323. 
Hancock, John, 125, 165, 172. 
Hand's Cove, 130, 132, 133, 

134, 137. 
Harrison, Benj., 320. 
Hartford, Conn., 124, 136, 137, 

151. 
Haviland, 106, 107. 
Hawley, Joseph, 159. 
Hebencourt, 88, 100. 
Hemenway's Gazetteer, 67. 
Hendrick, 75, 76, 78. 
Henley, Robert, 272. 276, 284. 
Henshaw, Joseph, 151. 
Herrick, Samuel, 130, 146, 147, 

151, 221, 222, 230, 235, 323. 
Hessians, 206. 
Hickok, Ezra, 126, 128, 137. 



Highlanders, 61, 62, 90, 93, 

94. 
Highgate, 59, 119, 235, 314. 
Hinman, Col., 151, 152, 153, 

166, 167, 169. 
Hinman's "Connecticut," 127. 
Hinesburgh, 118. 
Hocquart, Gillis, 57. 
Hope, Mt, 203, 211, 214, 222. 
Howe, Admiral, 224. 
Howe, Gen. William, 206, 224. 
Howe, Lord, 89, 92, 93, 95, 

224 323. 
Hubbardton, 214, 215, 219, 

220, 222. 
Hudson River, 19, 29, 34, 48, 

50, 54, 61, 71, 73, 160, 161, 

206, 207, 220, 221, 224, 233, 

296, 298, 299, 300, 301, 308, 

320. 
Hurons, 20, 29, 43, 51. 



Independence, Mt., 116, 182, 
197, 202, 203, 211, 214, 221, 
222, 225, 230. 

Inniskilling Foot, 109. 

Irish, 73. 



Iroquois, 20, 27, 28, 29, 31, 
33, 35, 38, 39, 41, 45, 46, 47, 
50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 70, 73, 
96. 207. 

Iroquois, Lake, 18, 19. 



330 



Index 



Iroquois River, 24, 26. 

Isle aux Noix, 99, 101, 102, 
106, 107, 170, 171, 174, 178, 
179, 202, 242, 249, 256, 260, 
261, 271, 273, 295. 

Isle aux Tetes, 242. 

Isle Longue, 59. 



Isle La Motte, 19, 23, 24, 25, 
39, 42, 43, 45, 48, 53, 55, 59, 
105, 106, 170, 171, 179, 187, 
234, 271, 272, 286, 315, 321. 

Izard, Gen., 253, 259, 261, 266, 
267. 



Jericho, 119. 
Jesuits, 35, 38, 46, 75. 
Jogues, Father Isaac, 28, 75, 
323. 



Johnson, Sir John, 231. 
Johnson, William, 72, 73, 74, 

75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 83, 323. 
Juniper Island, 19, 315, 316. 



Kalm, Peter, 62, 66 

290. 
Kerlidou, Father, 48. 



K 

67, 68, Knox, Henry, 161, 162, 323. 
Kosciusko, Thaddeus, 202, 
324. 



Lacolle, 239, 256. 
Lacolle River, 169. 
La Corne St. Luc, 84, 

226. 
Lafayette, Gen., 230, 319, 324. 
La Maunadiere, 58. 
Lamoille River, 18, 112. 
La Mothe, M. de., 39, 47, 48. 
Langdon, J., 173. 
Languedoc, 74, 84, 93. 
Laprairie, 52, 53, 107. 
La Reine, 74, 84, 88, 100, 106. 



215, 



Lawrence, Stephen, 235. 
Lee, Charles, 94, 323. 
Lincoln, Gen. Benj., 221, 223, 

224, 324. 
Long, Col., 212. 
Longueil, 174. 

Loudoun, Earl of, 81, 82, S3. 
Louisbourg, 82, 89, 137, 205. 
Lyman, Fort, 73, 74, 75, 76, 

77, 78, 79. 
Lyman, Phineas, 73, 74, 79, 

323. 



M 



Macdonough, Rodney, 241, 
248, 260, 273, 286. 

Macdonough, Thomas, 240, 
241, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 
248, 249, 250, 252, 257, 258, 
259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 
270, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 
277, 279, 280, 283, 284, 285, 
286, 287, 289, 295, 324. 

Macomb, Gen. Alexander, 252, 



256, 257, 258, 259, 261, 266, 

267, 268, 269, 273, 282, 284, 

285, 287, 324. 
Madison, James, 238, 239, 240. 
Mahan, Capt. A. T., 189, 198, 

199. 
Mallett, 118. 

Mallett's Bay, 18, 59, 109. 
Manchester, 215, 216, 218, 219, 

221. 



Index 



331 



Mansfield, Mt., 28. 

Maquam Bay, 248, 307, 311. 
320. 

Marin, Lieut., 83, 97. 

Massachusetts, 34, 52, 54, 71, 
74, 92, 112, 124, 126, 128, 
131, 132, 140, 141, 143, 147, 
149, 151, 153, 154, 157, 158, 
159, 166, 185, 196, 201, 202, 
218, 221, 226, 235, 236. 

Mattis, Dinah, 125. 

McKinley, William, 320. 

Meniphremagog, Lake, 104. 

Middlebury, 57, 117, 128, 230. 

Middle Hero, 235. 

Milton, 119, 235. 

Missisquoi Bay, 18, 103, 104, 
168, 237, 251. 

Missisquoi Falls, 110. 

Missisquoi River, 18, 110, 171, 
248. 

Mohawks, 20, 29, 40, 41, 42, 
43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 73, 76, 
78, 79. 

Mohawk River, 120, 231. 

Monro, Col., 83, 84, 85. 



Monroe, James, 319. 

Montcalm, Marquis, 80, 81, 82, 
83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 92, 
93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 107, 
323. 

Monkton, 58, 257. 

Montagnais, 20, 29, 30. 

Montgomery, Fort, 288. 

Montgomery, Gen . Richard, 
170, 171, 174, 179, 318, 323. 

Montmagny, 38. 

Montreal, 46, 47, 50, 53, 54, 
55, 58, 60, 74, 83, 87, 107, 
112, 113, 123, 142, 143, 160, 
163, 164, 168, 170, 173, 174, 
175, 176, 177, 178, 243, 251, 
297, 313. 

Montresor, Col., 94. 

Montreuil, 79. 

Mooers, Gen. Benj., 233, 268, 
282, 286. 

Morgan, Gen., 175. 

Moriah, N. Y., 234. 

Mott, Edward, 125, 126, 130. 
131, 132, 147, 152. 



N 



Newbury, 104. 

New England, 34, 35, 54, 71, 
73, 79, 81, 89, 122, 123, 133, 
135, 155, 156, 157, 159, 160, 
167, 186, 189, 206, 218, 219, 
238, 283. 

New Hampshire, 74, 78, 100, 
103, 111, 113, 114, 115, 117, 
120, 157, 171, 182, 185, 204, 
212, 218, 219. 

New Hampshire Grants, 119. 
122, 124, 125, 128, 158, 165, 
166, 185. 

New Haven, Conn., 124, 153. 

New Haven River, 319. 



New Haven, Vt., 57, 58, 117. 

New Jersey, 89, 93, 185, 197. 

New York, 50, 52, 54, 55, 58, 
61, 78, 81, 89, 109, 114, 117, 
119, 120, 156, 160, 166, 171, 
181, 185, 188, 192, 199, 217, 
224, 237, 238, 241, 251, 258, 
266, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 
295, 298, 299, 306, 307, 309, 
314, 319. 

New York City, 161, 232, 233, 
246, 299, 301, 320. 

North Hero, 59, 190, 233, 234, 
316. 

Number Four, Fort, 103, 105. 



332 



Index 



Odelltown, Que., 256, 257, 265, 

266. 
Ohio, 70, 71, 78. 
Oneidas, 42. 
Onion River, 118. 
Onion River Company, 118. 
Ontario, Lake, 23, 72, 74, 81, 

120, 241. 
Orwell, 116, 229, 236. 



Oswego, 74, 81, 97, 106, 107. 

Ottaquechee, 105. 

Ottawa Indians, 27. 

Ottawa River, 70. 

Otter Creek, 18, 52, 58, 81, 100, 
103, 109, 112, 117, 124, 130, 
157, 229, 252, 257, 258, 259, 
260, 298, 316. 



Paine, Robert Treat, 173, 324. 
Panton, 57, 58, 113, 176, 195, 

200, 236. 
Parkman, 22, 55, 78, 96. 
Parsons, Samuel H., 124. 
Pawlet, 219, 223, 233. 
Pellew, Edward, 191, 192. 
Pennsylvania, 201. 
Peru, 233, 234. 
Peta-pargow, 19. 
Peta-wa-bouque, 19. 
Phelps, Elisha, 148. 
Phelps, Noah, 125, 126, 127, 

128, 148. 
Philadelphia, 136, 139, 176, 

181, 202. 
Philipsburg, Que., 251. 
Phillips, Gen., 205, 211, 324. 
Philo, 228. 
Pierron, Father, 46. 
Pierson, Moses, 113, 170, 228, 

229. 
Pike, Col. Zebulon, 239, 324. 
Pitt, William, 81, 89, 96, 97, 

98. 
Pittsfield, Mass., 113, 124, 125. 
Pittsford, 128, 230. 
Pittsburgh, 112, 233. 239, 



242, 246, 247, 248, 250, 252, 
253, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 
261, 262, 265, 266, 267, 268, 

269, 272, 275, 280, 282, 284, 
285, 286, 287, 291, 297, 303, 
304, 310, 311, 314, 315, 319, 
320, 321, 322, 323. 

Piatt, Zepheniah, 233. 

Point au Fer, 66, 164, 179, 

190, 202, 233. 
Point au Roche, 311, 315. 
Point aux Trembles, 173, 174. 
Port Henry, 322. 
Port Kent, 193, 302, 314. 
Poultney River, 18. 
Prevost,, Sir George, 247, 267, 

270, 280, 281, 282, 283, 324. 
Pring, Capt. Daniel, 247, 259, 

260, 271, 272, 273, 278, 280. 
Pringle, Capt. Thomas, 189, 

190, 324. 
Providence Island, 194, 259, 

296, 297. 
Putnam, Israel, 74, 81, 97, 

323. 
Putnam, N. Y., 234. 
Putnam's Point, 196. 



Quebec, 20, 21, 34, 35, 42, 47, 
52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 79, 
96, 99, 102, 107, 113, 154, 



163, 164, 168. 173, 175, 177, 
186, 187, 205, 206, 221, 243, 
319. 



Index 



333 



R 



Raimbault, M., 58, 59. 

Reid, John, 117. 

Richelieu River, 18, 19, 20, 
22 24, 33, 38, 39, 40, 42, 
50, 52, 67, 99, 102, 169, 170, 
174, 177, 178, 187, 223, 242, 
250, 261, 272, 286, 295, 300, 
301. 

Reidesel, Gen., 206, 211, 212. 
214, 215, 220, 224, 324. 

Rigaud, 82. 

Robertson, James, 110, 111. 

Robinson, Col. Moses, 218. 

Rogers, Robert, 68, 81, 88, 90, 



91, 97, 101, 103, 104, 105, 

106. 
Romans, Bernard, 125. 
Roosevelt, 273, 274, 285, 321. 
Roquemaure, Col., 106, 107. 
Rouses Point, 25, 105, 233, 

259, 287, 308, 310, 311, 315. 
Royal Americans, 90, 100. 
Royal Roussilon, 84, 93, 106. 
Royalton, 232. 
Rutland, 128, 185, 215, 219, 

226, 230, 309. 
Rutland County, 236. 



Sacketts Harbor, 240, 249, 
266. 

Saint Pierre, 75, 76, 78. 

Salisbury, 116. 

Salisbury, Conn., 117, 119, 125. 

Salmon River, 18, 281. 

Saranac, 233. 

Saranac River, 18, 112, 267, 
270, 271, 274, 280. 

Saratoga, 154, 198, 320. 

Sawyer, Capt. Thomas, 228, 
229 

Schuyler's Falls, N. Y., 233. 

Schuyler Island, 19, 187, 193. 

Schuyler, John, 52, 53. 

Schuyler, Gen. Philip, 52, 153. 
161, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 
171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 178, 
180, 181, 185, 188, 201, 214, 
217, 219, 220, 221, 224, 228, 
229, 235,, 241, 242, 323. 

Scotch, 62, 109, 117, 126. 

Scribner's Magazine, 198. 

Shelburne, 112, 113, 170, 202, 
216, 248, 294, 298, 304, 307, 
311, 312, 313, 314. 

Sheldon, 59. 

Sherman, Richard W., 296, 
297, 298, 303, 304, 305. 



Sherman, James S., 304. 
Shirley, Gov., 71, 72, 73, 74, 

79, 81. 
Shoreham, 116, 128, 130, 131, 

132, 133, 139, 141, 229, 236. 
Skene, Andrew Philip, 141. 
Skene, Philip, 104, 110, 120, 

121, 130, 133, 141, 145, 219, 
Skenesborough, 110, 128, 130, 

131, 141, 142, 147, 181, 185, 

186, 196, 212, 213", 216, 219, 

220, 222. 
Smith, Lieut. Sidney, 241, 242, 

243 250 
Sorel,' M. de, 39, 42, 43, 45, 

46, 47, 48. 
Sorel, Que., 300. 
South Bay, 75, 156, 213. 
South Hero, 235, 259, 311, 

314, 316. 
Split Rock, 194, 195, 315, 316. 
St. Albans, 59, 119, 235, 254, 

299, 301, 303, 304, 308, 311, 

313, 320, 323. 
St. Albans Bay, 302, 303, 311. 
St. Anne, Fort, 39, 42, 43, 45, 

46, 47, 48. 
Stark, Gen., 74, 81, 93, 177, 

230, 323. 



334 



Index 



St. Clair, Gen., 95, 181, 202, 
203, 211, 212, 215, 216, 217, 
218, 222, 324. 

St. Francis Indians, 104, 105. 
122. 

St. Frederic, Fort, 55, 62, 63, 
66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74, 75, 84, 
87, 90, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 
290. 

St. Johns, 19, 66, 67, 80, 96, 
99. 105, 106, 107, 140, 142, 
143, 144, 145, 148, 152, 154, 
162, 163, 167, 168, 170, 174, 
178, 186, 187, 189, 197, 202, 
206, 231, 249, 256, 290, 291, 
295, 296, 298, 300, 303, 304, 



305, 308. 
St. Lawrence River, 18, 19, 

35, 71, 160, 173, 174, 189, 

223, 229, 301. 
Story, Ann, 116. 
Strong, Gen., 268, 285, 286. 
St. Sacrement, Lake, 46, 47, 

62, 75, 80. 
St. Therese, Fort, 21, 24, 39, 

40, 107. 
Sullivan, Gen., 177, 178, 179, 

180, 181, 324. 
Sunderland, Peleg, 122, 123, 

140. 
Swanton, 59, 110, 111, 235, 

237, 248, 249, 314. 



Thacher, Dr. James, 213. 

Thomas, Gen., 177. 

Thompson's, "Vermont," 127. 

Three Mile Point, 196. 

Three Rivers, 74. 

Ticonderoga, 24, 32, 33, 57, 
75. 79, 80, 81, 90, 95, 97, 
100, 101, 120, 121, 123, 124, 
126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 
136, 13?, 138, 139, 140, 141, 
142, 143, 144, 146, 147, 149, 
150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155. 
156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 



162, 163, 166, 167, 168, 170, 

171, 172, 173, 176, 177, 179, 

181, 184, 185, 186, 189, 195, 

196, 197, 201, 204, 211, 212, 

214, 216, 217, 218, 220, 221, 

222, 224, 225, 226, 232, 233, 
234. 

Tories, 163, 228, 231, 241. 

Trevelyan, Sir George Otto, 
189, 199. 

Trumbull, Gov., 140, 142, 147, 

152, 155, 157, 166, 168, 180. 

Twiss, Lieut., 211, 212. 



u 



United States, 108, 137, 176, 
238, 254, 282, 288, 306, 315, 
321. 

University of Vermont, 235, 
253. 



Upper Ammonoosuc River, 

105. 
Utrecht, Treaty of, 55, 70. 



Valcour Island, 19, 102, 112. 

188, 189, 190, 191, 193. 
Van Buren, Martin, 305, 319. 
Vaudreuil, Gov., 54, 57, 71, 

80, 82, 96, 99, 107. 



Vermont, 53, 58, 67,74, 103, 

109, 110, 114, 119, 120, lat, 

126, 128, 138, 139, 216, 218, 

225, 229, 230, 231, 232, 236, 

237, 238, 239, 244, 245, 249, 



Index 



335 



252, 253, 254, 255, 258, 259, Vergennes, 257, 258, 259, 260, 

261, 266, 281, 282, 283, 287, 261, 295, 298, 303, 313, 320, 

297, 299, 302, 303, 308, 312, 322. 

315, 322. Vineyard, 234. 



w 



Wait, Maj., 222, 225, 234. 
Waltham, 57, 58. 
Warren, Joseph, 123, 140, 159. 
Warner, Seth, 134, 137, 140, 

150, 165, 166, 171, 174, 175, 

204, 219, 221, 222, 223, 230, 

323. 
Washington County, 234, 237, 

282. 
Washington, George, 70, 72, 

78, 161, 162, 166, 169, 175, 

180, 183, 185, 197, 201, 204, 

217 233 292. 
Waterbury, Gen., 188, 190, 191, 

193. 
Waterford, 19, 299, 300. 
Wayne, Gen., 177, 185, 197, 

202 324. 
Webb'., Gen., 82, 83, 84, 85, 

323. 
Welden, Jesse, 119. 
Wells. 219. 

Wentworth, Gov., Ill, 113. 
Westport, 110, 111, 134, 164. 

170, 310, 316, 320. 
Weybridge, 57. 
White Creek, 219. 
Whitehall, 18, 19, 110, 234, 

240, 241, 286, 287, 293, 294, 
W. °98, 299, 300, 301, 

303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 309, 



310, 311, 313, 314, 316, 319, 

323. 
White River, 305, 232. 
Whiting, 12S. 132. 
Wilkinson, Gen. James, 246, 

249, 253, 256, 257, 258, 259, 

324. 
William Henry, Fort, 79, S2, 

83, 84, 87, 156. 
Williams, Col. Ephraim, 74, 

75, 76, 77, 323. 
Williston, 119, 234, 265. 
Willsboro, 234. 
Windmill Point, 56, 67, 187, 

315. 
Windsor, 216. 
Winooski, 118, 322. 
Winooski River, 18, 54, 58, 59. 

118, 124, 140, 154, 171, 232, 

251, 291, 319. 
Winslow, John, 81. 
Winsor, Justin, 206. 
Winthrop, John, 52, 323. 
Wood Creek, 50, 52, 62, 80, 

110, 214, 220, 221. 
Wolfe, Gen., 92, 102, 107, 205. 
Woolsey, Lieut. Melancton, 

238. 
Wooster, David, 114, 171, 175, 

323. 
Wynkoop, Jacobus, 185, 186. 



Yankees, 201. 



York, Pa., 174. 



JUL : 



LBFe '10 



F 

£{ A HISTORY 

OF 

Lake Champlain 

By WALTER HILL CROCKETT 







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W&L' : ' ■■ ' * 










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THE RECORD 

OF THREE CENTURIES 

1609-1909 



